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NT Bureau
Chennai, Jan 16:
 

LINED UP: Autorickshaws waiting  for their customers on RK Mutt Road.

        With the government announcing a revised tarrif for autorickshaws, commuters hope that they will no more be charged exorbitant flat rates and the vexatious extras. Hopefully, no more haggling and furious exchange of words with auto drivers.

        With the new regulation in place, autos must ply only with electronic metres from 26 January and should only charge the revised tarrif.

        A two km ride in an autorickshaw will cost Rs 14 and every additional km Rs 6. A waiting charge of 40 paise for 5 minutes is applicable and for trips between 10 pm and 5 am commuters would be charged 25 per cen extra, as per the new scheme.

        Autorickshaw owners must replace mechanical metres with electronic ones and upgrade the existing electronic ones within 45 days.

        'All this sounds fine, but can a strict vigil be maintained on these people? quizzed Sundaravadanam of Chitrakulam. What is the guarantee that they will not tamper with the metres after some time ? I would say with certainty that it is not going to make a big difference. Now they demand a flat sum of Rs 50 for commuting to T Nagar. With the revised rates, the metres will flash almost the same amount'.

        If this is what commuters felt, auto drivers around Mylapore had something different to say. Most drivers and unions felt the new rates announced by the government fell short of their demands. They had demanded a minimum of Rs. 15 for first two km and Rs 7 for every additional km.

        'We have no other choice but to run the metres and charge fares as shown by it. It is not beneficial for us. When we ply a customer from Mylapore to Pondy Bazaar we have been charging a flat rate of Rs 70 . Traffic is heavy and vehicle movement slow which means increased consumption of petrol and unless we charge this rate we cannot make ends meet. Now the changed rates will bring us lesser returns for the same distance' said Raghu of the autostand on North Mada Street.

        'Out of our earnings, we have to pay a daily rent of Rs 130, fill petrol and should also manage to take a decent remuneration. These new rates are going to prove difficult for us.

        When customers themselves do not request us to run the metres, why these new regulations? ' exclaimed Kumar his comrade. A reduction in petrol prices could help us to some extent,' he added.

        A driver attached to the Bhaskarapuram, East Abhiramapuram stand held similar views. 'We charge flat rates taking into consideration not only distances and traffic, but also the fact that sometimes we have to return back to our stands without any customers. The revised fares will not cover these costs and are not beneficial for us. Moreover now we have to incur expenses to upgrade the existing metres. It is going to be tough for us.'