Autorickshaw Diaries
The Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation Employees Union and Telangana Mazdoor Union are on a strike demanding immediate bifurcation of the corporation and a 43% fitment in basic pay of the crew. The public transport company operates 20,000 buses in both States every day and cover 79.83 lakh kilometres every day. About 1.5 crore commuters have been affected by the strike though the RTC has been running about 10% of the services through temporary drivers.
In the meantime, of course, auto drivers and private taxi operators are having a field day. One does not hear much about call cabs tampering with meters but anyone who travels by autos in Hyderabad will tell you about their varied experiences.
Most autowallahs nowadays refuse to switch on their meters and quote roughly double the price to a destination. And as if that is not enough, they then start grumbling once they are nearby. "Bahut door hai, itna door bola nahi aapne. Ab toh thirty rupees aur dijiye," is a typical refrain.
Another trick the autowallahs use is to suddenly get the meter to conk off midway. "Arre, yeh meter nahi chal raha, tum soch ke de do, kitna hota hai." And no, none of the figures you quote will suit him of course until you have emptied out your wallet.
The fact that almost all autowallahs in Hyderabad drive as if their pants were on fire is simply stating the obvious. Nothing will deter them, traffic rules least of all. Which is why, even those who drive Sedans or sports cars cannot reach a destination as quickly as an auto guy can take you. So what if they bump into a few vehicles on the way or nearly run over pedestrians. Rules are not for them, you see.