Auto drivers are anxious to clear lockdown debts

Many are at the mercy of moneylenders who charge high rates of interest

Out of action for nearly two months, auto drivers returned to work on Tuesday.

Their first concern is to pay off the debts they have incurred since the lockdown began and deprived them of their daily earnings. The Auto Rickshaw Drivers Union (ARDU) has about 30,000 autos under its banner. C N Srinivas, general secretary, says drivers are desperate to resume working. “We have been facing threats from financiers from whom we have borrowed money,” he told Metrolife.

Auto drivers borrow from financiers to buy vehicles, and from neighbourhood moneylenders to run their households.

Both categories are informal and largely unregulated, and charge rates of interest way higher than banks. “Drivers have to pay house rents and feed large families, and that is the reason they end up at the mercy of money-lenders. What we need is for the economy to open up. We are broke,” he says.

Airy transport

Autos are safe and passengers shouldn’t worry, says Meenakshi Sundaram, president ARDU, a wing of the CPM’s Centre of Indian Trade Unions.

“People usually travel with family and friends. So there is no question of travelling with strangers. Autos are open and well ventilated,” he says.

Some drivers use digital payments such as Google Pay, while others still deal in cash. Meenakshi Sundaram accepted the suggestion that drivers use a cleansing solution to wipe passenger seats after every trip.

“We will direct the drivers to do it as a precautionary measure. But each of us has to look out for ourselves. We can’t rely on a third party for safety,” he says.

Need Rs 1,000 a day

Sampath, general secretary of the Adarsha Auto Taxi Drivers Union, says drivers will now wear masks and use hand sanitisers, and allow only two passengers.

“We have 14,000 drivers under our wing,” he told Metrolife. An auto driver has to earn at least Rs 1,000 a day for the business to be viable. He spends Rs 300 on LPG and Rs 350 on EMI.

“These days, we wait around for hours and return home with barely enough to meet our daily expenses. We waste gas just looking for customers,” adds Sampath.

Get home by 7 pm

B R Ravikanthe Gowda, joint commissioner of police (Traffic), says all traffic signals will be operational from 7 am to 7 pm. “After this, we will close important roads and junctions to enforce the curfew already in place,” he says. He warned drivers against carrying extra passengers and charging above the meter. “Passengers can call the police control room 100 if they need help,” he says.

No signs of overcharging

A reality check by Metrolife revealed that most auto drivers, who were out on Tuesday, weren’t overcharging. They went by the meter fare. Many were also seen moving around, waiting for passengers. Some were parked in the bylanes and waiting near bus stands.

Metrolife interacted with a few passengers who said that they were relieved that the auto drivers weren’t overcharging. Radhika Rao, an IT professional, who hailed an auto from Padmanabhanagar to M G Road, said that she paid only Rs 10 above the meter fare. Sunitha Prasad, a homemaker, who went from Hennur to Hebbal, said she voluntarily paid Rs 20 above the meter charge.