Autorickshaw Drivers Staged Demonstration
Autorickshaw drivers staging a demonstration in front of the Red Cross Society building in the city on Monday. Autorickshaw drivers under the banner of the Coimbatore District Autorickshaw Workers All Association Joint Committee staged a demonstration on Huzur Road in front of the Red Cross Society building urging the authorities to streamline the functioning of call taxis and share autorickshaws. According to the president of the committee, P.K. Sugumaran, and secretary G. Ansarbasha, the demonstrators wanted the stand system to be streamlined and the autorickshaws should be insulated from the interference of call taxis and share autorickshaws.The concept of call taxis, in violation of rules, has come as a death-knell for the nearly 9,000 autorickshaws in the city. The nomenclature call taxi never find a place or mention in the Motor Vehicle Rules.
The self-styled call taxi concept was fast becoming a law unto themselves. The call taxi drivers besides luring passengers with advertisement campaign were parking the vehicles right in front of autorickshaw stands soliciting passengers leading to wordy duels.Similarly, the operation of share autorickshaws was also proving to be a concern for the auto drivers as the share automen were allowing more passengers to board the vehicle than the allowed capacity. It was time the law enforcing agencies such as Transport Department and police streamlined the functioning of these two modes of transport, they added.
