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The once-commuter-friendly autorickshaws are in reverse now

PUDUCHERRY: Travelling by autorickshaw has, of late, become dearer for commuters in Puducherry with drivers charging exorbitant fare. The region, once known for its commuter-friendly autorickshaw drivers, is slowly emulating certain other cities notorious for fleecing commuters.

There have been several complaints in the recent months about excess fare collection by autorickshaw drivers.

“To travel a stretch of two km, we have to pay Rs. 50. To travel the same distance, we used to pay Rs. 25 at the most a year ago,” a retired government school teacher at Mudliarpet said.

An employee in a firm on Mission Street said that a year ago he used to pay Rs. 25 for travelling from the New Bus Stand to his office, a distance of 2 km.

“Now, I pay Rs. 40 to Rs. 45,” he said.

An executive who regularly travels between Puducherry and Chennai said that during night hours, he had to pay Rs. 150 to travel to Lawspet from the New Bus Stand, a distance of about 5 km.

“It is more than twice the bus fare from Puducherry to Chennai,” he said.

Several autorickshaw drivers charge between Rs. 40 to Rs. 60 for a distance of two km, when the minimum fare fixed by the government in 2001 was Rs. 7.

Collector G. Theva Neethi Dhas said that after the issue was brought to his notice, he had asked the Transport Department to revise the fare and introduce metre system.

The government was in favour of increasing the minimum fare as it was fixed in 2001 when the petrol price was Rs. 26 a litre.

Mr. Dhas said he held a meeting recently with the officials of the Transport Department and representatives of various autorickshaw drivers’ unions to discuss various issues.

The Tourism Department had been asked to provide uniforms to select drivers to avoid inconvenience to tourists travelling by autorickshaws, he said.

When contacted, Transport Commissioner S.M. Khannaji said the proposal to hike the minimum fare had been sent to the government.

The government wanted to place the proposal at the next Cabinet meeting for approval, he said.

Honorary president of autorickshaw drivers’ union affiliated to the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which has around 800 members and controls 32 autorickshaw stands in Puducherry, T. Murugan said they were not against the introduction of metre system.

The union was also in favour of introduction of pre-paid autorickshaw facility at prominent places in the town.

Mr. Murugan said it was true that a few drivers charged exorbitant fare and it was causing disrepute to the profession.

Several commuters said the Transport Department and the traffic police should open separate cells to address the grievances of commuters travelling by autorickshaws.

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