Govt smart move fails to rein in errant autos

Saturday, Nov 07, 2009

The transport department's initiative to issue smart cards for all autorickshaws touted as the only solution to the auto mess in the city may have begun, but this has hardly acted as a deterrent for auto drivers who continue to fleece commuters. Now they are citing the hike in price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for overcharging.

Meanwhile, barely 100 auto drivers are turning up everyday at the auto unit of the Regional Transport Department at Burari for the smart cards, as against the daily target of 500 set by the department. So far, just a little over 1,200 auto drivers have turned up to get the smart cards since the scheme was launched on October 21. The department claims those who don't turn up will get a second chance at the end of the process, failing which they could face cancellation of permits.

Vandana Gupta, a resident of Hauz Khas, said: "On Wednesday, auto drivers came up with a new excuse to charge extra money. I was told that the price of CNG has increased and I should dole out Rs 20 more than the meter fare if I want to hire the auto. There is so much happening for the Commonwealth Games, but why is the government not doing anything on this front.''

For the record, industry estimates suggest that on an average, an auto uses about 4 kg of CNG everyday. The price of CNG has gone up by just 20 paise per kg which translates into a strain of about 80 paise a day for the auto driver. This is hardly a reason to hike fares.

Officials claim that the smart card system has been designed to ensure that each and every auto plying in the city gets a smart card by next February. In batches of about 500 daily, auto owners are called to the autorickshaw unit at Regional Transport Office in Burari to get their papers in order, including details of the drivers, their driving licences and public service badge (PSB) numbers. The details are verified by the transport department and at the end of the exercise, a computerized smart card is issued for the vehicle containing all the details and photographs of the authorized persons for reference of the department and enforcement agencies.

"Since auto owners are called on specific dates worked out on the basis of the series of the vehicle registration number, there is no question of evasion. We plan to take stern action, which may even include cancellation of permits,'' said a senior transport department official.

What about enforcement, especially when auto drivers have no regard for the law? Officials say that no amount of enforcement will show result as the auto problem is one of demand and supply. "The solution is to increase the number of autos in the city, which is being looked into by EPCA. Untill this happens, the problem will remain,'' said an official.

Till August this year, traffic police have booked 5,745 autos and taxis for refusing to go by the meter, overcharging and misbehaviour. About 1,58,136 auto drivers have been prosecuted for various traffic offences up to July 31 this year as against 94,990 during the same period last year. Though police admit that enforcement is not up to the mark, they cite shortage of manpower and problems in the system as major reasons for autos having a free run.

At present, one of the main problems in reigning in errant auto drivers is that nearly 80% of the challans issued never reach the real owners. The reason, say officials of the transport department, lies in the fact that records available with government are outdated. In a majority of cases the details of the real owner of the vehicle are not given to the department to evade prosecution or to facilitate ownership of multiple permits by the same person, who in turn rent out the vehicles to untrained drivers for a daily sum.

Original news source http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Govt-smart-move-fails-to-rein-in-errant-autos/articleshow/5207775.cms