Paradox of too many autos, too few rides

Bengaluru: A bizarre contradiction is playing out on Bengaluru streets — people are finding it difficult to hire autorickshaws, and drivers aren’t getting enough rides. 

Several autos are routinely parked in front of the MG Road metro station, even as passengers stand around trying to book rides on their phones. This is a common scene at many busy locations across the city.

When DH reporters checked on multiple occasions, drivers were unwilling to go by the meter. A ‘prepaid’ booth at the MG Road metro station entrance, run by the police, is mandated with fixing fares and assigning autos to passengers, but it does little to address the problem. 

Exorbitant ask

Passengers are willing to take the autos and pay by the meter, and sometimes a little extra, but find themselves pitted against drivers who routinely demand up to five times the mandated fare of Rs 15 a km.

For example, a 2.5 km ride from the metro station to the Police Commissioner's office on Infantry Road should cost no more than Rs 45 to Rs 50. But drivers demand Rs 80, Rs 100, and sometimes Rs 120 for the short trip.

The fares demanded go up exponentially the moment it rains. On ride hailing apps, generally speaking, the fares are often higher than mandated by law, but lower than what the auto drivers on the street demand when hailed manually.

Are autos scarce? Not really, says traffic expert MN Srihari. “They are supposed to be part of the intermediate public transport system and need to be regulated strictly by the RTO and the police. Unfortunately, that does not happen, so their fleecing continues,” he said.

According to the State Transport Department, 3.45 lakh autos are registered in Bengaluru as of October 2024. At least 25,953 new vehicles were registered in the past year. Even if you discount scrapped autos and those older than 15 years (together amounting to 1.36 lakh), 2.36 lakh autos ply in the city.

M Manjunath, president, Adarsha Auto and Taxi Drivers’ Union, makes a case for higher government-recommended fares. "The minimum fare for autos should be Rs 40 km, and the per km fare should go up from Rs 15 km to Rs 20. If this happens, I can assure you that every one of the 16,000 drivers under our union will follow this and stop demanding higher fares,” he said.

Clearly, the government needs to step in and address the problems of both passengers and auto drivers. Otherwise, this imbroglio will continue.

Any complaints? 

Any complaints about autos can be given on the Bengaluru Traffic Police (BTP) website btp.gov.in/Complaint_ sugg.aspx or on the BTP helpline at 112.