New autorickshaw fare remains only on chart

The new meter fare for autorickshaws remained only in print on Monday – the day when it was supposed to take effect in Coimbatore. The minimum fare of Rs. 14 fixed by the Government was confined to the chart provided to the autorickshaw drivers by the Regional Transport Office.

As per the new rates, passengers should pay Rs. 14 if the meter reads Rs. 7. A combination of resistance on the part of the drivers and ignorance on the part of the passengers allowed fleecing to continue even on day one of the new fare.

Ignorance

Passengers at the railway station were either not aware of the new rates coming into effect or never got a chance to emphasise it with the autorickshaw drivers. So determined were the drivers to rubbish the new fare that they got away comfortably with their methods of collecting excess fare.

Despite the officials distributing the new fare charts, neither the drivers nor most of the passengers took note of it. While the drivers rejected the fare, many passengers saw no point in arguing with them when there was no scope for winning.

Enforcement

Responding to complaints of the new fare not being enforced on Monday, transport authorities said that the first two days were set aside for the distribution of the fare chart. Enforcement would begin on Wednesday. There was an indication that some stringent measures might be taken if the drivers refused to operate with the new fare.

But, the authorities also provided a hint that they would not rush into action and that was why the first day did not have visible enforcement. More than 1,000 cards were to have been distributed on Monday.

The 6,000 autorickshaws in the city would be covered by Tuesday night. The distribution of the charts on the first two days was expected to serve as an exercise to prepare the drivers to operate with the new fare.

Digital meters

The transport authorities have given time for the drivers to fix digital meters that will be calibrated to the new fare. Till then, the existing meters calibrated to the old fare of Rs. 7 will have to be used. The vehicles having the old meters will have to use the chart containing the new fares. But, the drivers themselves admitted that the meters in most of the autorickshaws either malfunctioned or did not function at all.

Chennai experience

Official sources said there was scepticism among the authorities over the district’s ability to enforce the new fare. Given the fact that the fare, introduced in Chennai on January 26, was rejected by the autorickshaw drivers, there was no illusion here of the drivers accepting the fare without protest.

President of the Federation of Autorickshaw Workers’ Unions of Coimbatore District P.K. Sukumaran said that around 3,000 drivers would stage a demonstration in the city on Tuesday to protest against the fare. “We cannot accept Rs.14 as the minimum fare. We have asked for Rs.20, only this amount is viable for us,” he said.