COMMUTING MADE EASY: Traffic policemen regulating pre-paid autorickshaws on Mahatma Gandhi Road in Bangalore. — Photo: K. Murali Kumar

BANGALORE: Pre-paid autorickshaw booths here have come in handy for many commuters. With the public transport system still limited and unable to cope with the demand, autorickshaws are becoming popular with most commuters.

The pre-paid autorickshaw booths on Mahatma Gandhi Road, near Commercial Street, Kempe Gowda Bus Station and on Kempe Gowda Road are located in areas where many come for shopping or entertainment and where parking space is limited. Prepaid autorickshaws save the hassle of parking and being a carefully monitored arrangement, economical too, most commuters say.

The booth on Mahatma Gandhi Road reports getting nearly 400 bookings each working day. Since many know where these counters are located, they even walk down from Residency Road and Brigade Road to catch an autorickshaw here. The pre-paid arrangements are for distances up to 25 km, which means, one can get as far as outer suburbs.

The booths display a chart of fixed charges for different routes and destinations. After payment, a receipt is issued with the autorickshaw's number, driver's name, commuter's name, distance and destination. This avoids any wrangling later over time and distance or the route taken. The customary "change illari'' is absent as the money is paid in advance.

Narasaraju, who has to frequently travel between KG Road and Jayanagar, says the arrangement is very convenient. "There is always one autorickshaw available to my destination and once the charges are paid, they just have to take me where I want to go. I can easily save up to Rs. 10 on each trip instead of bargaining,'' he says.

Many college students too find pre-paid autorickshaws convenient. However, some autorickshaw drivers say they are forced to accept a fare whether they want to travel in a particular direction or not. Others find the booths being open till 10 p.m. a constraint on their time though they are allowed to charge more after 9 p.m.

Police officers monitoring the pre-paid booths admit there may be some shortage of autorickshaws after 7 p.m. in locations such as KG Road or MG Road. During peak hours in the morning and late afternoon too, there are more passengers than autorickshaws available. However, there have been few complaints about autorickshaw drivers refusing to take passengers, they say.

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