Prepaid autos: MG Road records highest passenger numbers

A month after the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) started setting up prepaid auto stands in the city, the facility at MG Road has seen the highest activity, averaging 175 to 200 passengers every day. Prepaid auto stands have been set up at 13 locations in the city.

Officials attributed the numbers to the location’s (MG Road Metro Station) proximity to Church Street, Brigade Road, St Mark’s Road, and other areas with high footfall. Indiranagar Metro Station comes second, averaging 100-150 daily passengers. Nagasandra Metro Station clocked the lowest daily passenger count, at 10-15 passengers.

On Tuesday, Special Commissioner of Police, Traffic, M A Saleem inaugurated a prepaid auto stand at Orion Mall. Kuldeep Kumar Jain, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic West Division, said the stand will be managed by the Malleshwaram Traffic Police.

“The response has been very positive. After the inauguration at 6 pm, 74 people utilised the service during the rest of the evening,” Jain said. Urging more people to use the service, he said it can create a win-win situation for both the drivers and commuters, if utilised properly.

Collaborative effort

BTP works in collaboration with the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation (BMRCL) to set up and jointly manage stands outside metro stations in the city. Currently stands are operational at the Nagasandra, Cubbon Park, and MG Road stations, while stands outside more stations and at traffic hotspots are being planned.

The ride fares are calculated based on the standard Rs 15/km rate, using a handheld input machine that has replaced the fixed chart calculation used earlier. These machines are operated by a BMRCL or BTP official who fills in the driver’s details and prints a receipt for the commuter to carry.

Some autorickshaw drivers outside the Cubbon Park Metro Station favoured the new system over the ride-hailing applications because of the absence of hefty commissions. Barring a two-rupee fee, no commission needs to be paid, to either the BMRCL or the BTP.

However, not everyone shares this sentiment. Chidanand, an auto driver who has been on the road for over 13 years, believes that this system too has brought losses. “If I need to get to Garuda Mall from MG Road, I need to take a roundabout route which costs around Rs 50 on the meter. The prepaid stand offers me only about Rs 35,” he said.

BTP will soon inaugurate a pre-paid auto stand in Commercial Street in the coming week.