JOIN USIt is not without reason that residents of Uttar Pradesh call it ‘Ulta Pradesh.’ In Delhi, commuters often complain of auto-rickshaw drivers not willing to go by the meter.
In neighbourhood Gautam Buddh Nagar, home to high-tech city Noida, auto rickshaw drivers recently went on a strike demanding meters and a standard fare akin to the system followed in Delhi!
Their argument is simple: Provide us meters so that neither do we have to haggle with customers endlessly nor do they feel cheated. Why have this jungle law where might is right, where your bargaining power determines how much you end up paying an auto driver?
Om Prakash Gujjar, president, Gautam Buddh Nagar Autorickshaw Union, says, “In Delhi, the meter system makes it very simple. The commuter pays Rs 25 for the first 2 kilometres and eight rupees for every kilometre after that. In Noida and other parts of Gautam Buddh Nagar, we have to inevitably negotiate the amount with customers.”
“Even if we charge just Rs 50 from Rajnigandha Chowk to Noida City Centre (roughly 5 km), the customer would still feel conned, especially if he or she is new to the city and doesn’t know the distance. Hum to imaandari karke bhi badnaam hain.”
That is, however, not the end of their woes. Hiramani, another autowallah says, “Unlike Delhi, where an auto can ply anywhere in the city, in Gautam Buddh Nagar, permits are given for three areas – Noida, Kasna and Dadri. This means that if a lady customer wants to go from Noida to Dadri, I will have to drop her at the last Noida check post, even if it is 1 in the morning.”
“You will be surprised to know that even those autowallahs who have a Kasna permit but stay in Noida are challaned when coming back home. Then there is the issue of auto stands. There are no designated stands here. Police wallahs drive us away from Metro stations but is the passenger supposed to come to our home asking for a ride?”
Commuters who are often at loggerheads with autowallahs, can’t disagree with autowallahs, this time, either. NP Singh, president, Federation of Noida RWAs, says, “These demands are completely justified. In fact, I wonder, why do autowallahs have to go for a strike for the implementation of such common sensical measures as meters?”
“The UP transport authorities could have certainly spared us the trouble of the strike and the resultant transport mess.”
When Metrolife contacted the Assistant Regional Transport Officer, Rajesh Singh, he informed us, “We are apprehensive that if we give the autowallahs full-district permit, they may just stay in Noida and not go to far flung areas of Kasna and Dadri. However, the issue they have raised of people wanting to travel between the three areas is also valid and we are looking into it.”
“As for meters and standardisation of fares, it’s been a long-standing demand and we have written to the State Transport Authority regarding this. Let’s see what happens.”