Plan for hitech meters, panic buttons, in autos rejected

The State Transport department has recently turned down the Legal Metrology Department’s proposal seeking the installation of panic buttons and GPS in autorickshaws to check the increasing cases of harassment against women passengers.

The proposal, which also includes the installation of meters that will give a printed bill to passengers, was sent in October 2014.  It was turned down due to lack of funds.

Undeterred, the department plans to put forth the proposal in the ensuing budget session to at least make it mandatory for new autorickshaws to instal latest tamper-proof meters which will generate printed receipts at the end of the journey and have a GPS system installed.

The objective is to give a sense of security to the passenger. The printed receipt will have driver details, time of journey, vehicle number, route map tracked by the GPS-enabled autorickshaw, among other details, an official said.

 The department had sought a subsidy for the project from the State government so that autorickshaw drivers are not burdened and will agree to be part of the project without hesitation.

The Legal Metrology Department had sent the first proposal after receiving complaints of autorickshaw drivers harassing passengers.

For the installation of tamper-proof meters the department had suggested the upgrade of existing digital meters, which would cost Rs 2,000-2,500 or installation of new meters, which would cost anything between Rs 5,000 and Rs 6,000.

Around 1.25 lakh legally registered autorickshaws ply in the City, besides the many autorickshaws which run without permits.