Another Meeting To Elicit The Views Of The Public

A passenger and an autorickshaw driver haggle over fare in Coimbatore. The district administration has arranged for yet another meeting to elicit the views of the public on the minimum meter fare for autorickshaws. A committee headed by the District Revenue Officer will hear the views on April 15, the administration has said in a release.

The meeting will take place amid a growing feeling among the public that earlier efforts for a meter fare have failed.

A few months ago, separate meetings were held for autorickshaw drivers’ unions and consumer welfare organisations and the public. The unions stick to their demand for Rs.20 as minimum fare for one-and-a-half km, as against the Rs.14 for the first two km that the Government fixed in January 2007. President of the Joint Action Committee of Coimbatore District Autorickshaw Workers’ Unions P.K. Sukumaran warned after the previous meeting that even Rs.20 would be rendered inadequate by the rising cost of fuel, especially if the fixing of the fare got delayed.

Consumer bodies say the unions cannot demand an exorbitant fare by citing the rising cost of fuel and spare parts. “The entire exercise is of no use,” says Coimbatore Consumer Cause secretary K. Kathirmathiyon. “The Home Secretary has said in a letter to us that Coimbatore cannot have a higher fare than the one fixed by the Government. In such a situation, where is the need to negotiate on the fare,” he asks.

People complain that even as the authorities are grappling with the issue of meter fare, nothing is being done to end the harassment of passengers by the drivers. Already people have to bargain hard on a fare while hiring these vehicles. Causing further agony is the demand for more money at the end of the trip. A woman hired an autorickshaw at Avanashilingam University and said she had to go to A.T.T. Colony near V.O.C. Park. The driver demanded Rs.70, but later agreed to settle for Rs.50.

The vehicle stopped near the special court for bomb blasts cases and the driver claimed it had run out of fuel. The passenger agreed to walk the rest of the distance, handed over Rs.100 and asked for the balance Rs.50. But, the driver insisted on being paid Rs.70. The passenger said she had to put up a fight and get back the change. In another instance, two women hired an autorickshaw at Suguna Kalyana Mandapam on Avanashi Road to reach the park area. The fare was fixed at Rs.60. But, on the way, the driver demanded a higher fare.

The passengers said that when they refused to agree to it, the driver increased the speed. The scared passengers asked him to slow down, but the driver paid no heed to their words. When they threatened to complain to the police, the driver himself pointed at a traffic constable and asked them to do so. Only after the passengers threatened to take the matter to top city police officials, did the driver stop arguing and accept the fare agreed upon.

What worries the public now is that even if a meter fare is fixed, there is no mechanism that can bring about a change in the drivers’ behaviour towards passengers. Consumer welfare organisations point out that under such circumstances, public will not have faith in the present exercise of seeking their opinion on the fare.

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