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Move to rein in Capital’s unruly auto-rickshaws

NEW DELHI: With all the helplines and enforcement drives having failed to rein in the Capital’s unruly auto-rickshaw drivers, the new Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely is banking on installation of a General Packet Radio Services (GPRS) system in all the autos in the New Year to keep a tab on them.

Pointing out that there is an urgent need to ensure orderliness and fairness in the plying of auto-rickshaws, the Minister said on Wednesday that to begin with the Enforcement Department would be given more teeth and over a hundred more personnel would be inducted into it by mid-January. Interviews for the posts are on at present and the reinforcements would help the department deal with the problem of refusal or overcharging by the auto drivers in a better manner.Mr. Lovely said the GPRS system would be installed in the autos free of cost and would help the department establish their real time movement. It would also help in tackling complaints in a more effective manner.

“At present when people lodge a complaint against an auto-rickshaw for overcharging or refusal, there is no proof with us to determine the veracity of the allegation. The auto-rickshaw drivers normally deny that they were even at the place where the passenger claims a wrong was done. So it becomes a case of his word against mine,” said the Minister. “But now this is going to change. Now we will have data on the real-time movement of every auto-rickshaw and we would be able to confront the auto drivers with the allegations of the complainants more effectively. The GPRS will tell us if an auto-rickshaw was really at a given place at a given time and if the complaint is indeed true or false.” Noting that the number of auto-rickshaws in the city has been fixed by a court order, Mr. Lovely said the key area of concern is to ensure that they ply in accordance with the law and the passengers do not face any inconvenience. Improvement in this sector ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2010 would also give a further boost to the Delhi’s image.

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