Almost taken for a ride

Auto drivers have more ways to fleece their customers than fares

Miracles do happen. The auto fare meter showed 95 and I gave the driver a 100 rupee note. And lo! Behold. He took out a five rupee coin and offered to return the balance. When I asked him to keep the change, he thanked me and sped away. If you are a Bengalurean you’d understand why this is nothing short of a miracle. This is rare.

The next time when I flagged an auto, the driver quietly accepted my request. No haggles. No demand for extra money. Even before I could ask he switched on the meter. What more you can ask of a Bengaluru auto driver? And the vehicle travelled a kilometre when his mobile cackled, or did it? He spoke for a few seconds and halted the vehicle and started sobbing.

I was intrigued. ‘What happened?’ I asked.

‘Sir, it’s my brother. He says the father is serious, treatment is on...”

“But why are you not in the hospital now?” I enquired.

“Sir, there is a shortage of Rs 30,000 to pay the hospital bill, that’s why I am running the auto,” he said in a low tone. He had covered his face with a muffler so I could not read it. But he seemed desperate to get my sympathy. My sixth sense alerted me: Don’t believe him, it warned me. I heeded its advice, terminated the raid and paid him off midway and looked for another ride.

Also Read | Autos from the metro stations across Bengaluru will soon run on meter fares

Several weeks later, I was looking for an auto when one vehicle slowed down near me and I could hire it without any bargaining. Lucky, I said to myself. The driver had covered his face. Some five minutes of riding, his cell phone rang, the vehicle swerved to the left and halted abruptly. I enquired.

“Sir, a call from the hospital. My mother is serious and there is a shortage of cash and I am running the vehicle to raise the money…can you please help?” This time I didn’t need a sixth sense to see through the act. Was it the same driver? I was not sure.

Like the previous driver this one too had covered his face. The modus operandi was similar. Still, can I give this driver the benefit of doubt and trust him? I started narrating my previous experience to him and within seconds he drove away without even collecting the fare due for the distance travelled thus far!

A few months later, as I was about to get off another auto, the middle aged driver told me that his sons were college students and he was finding it hard to meet their expenses with his meagre earnings. He asked if I could help. My sixth sense kept quiet. I tipped him extra and walked away believing myself. Was he honest? I will never know. But at least the story was different. .