There has been constant hue and cry by people over the way auto drivers do their business
Amidst threats by autorickshaw unions to go on a state-wide strike from November 27, the regional transport office (RTOs) of Andheri and Wadala have started clamping down against auto drivers who are not falling in line. Drive has begun in western suburbs earlier last week while in eastern suburbs the drive begun from Saturday. There has been constant hue and cry by people over the way auto drivers do their business.
One of the most important complaints are about the shared autorickshaws which connect people from railway stations to various residential societies and commercial offices across suburbs of Mumbai. "They blatantly break rules. They ferry four to five passengers at the same time," said an officer from Andheri RTO.
People have been taking the social media to post their grievances against the share-auto drivers who pay little heed towards following traffic rules, rash driving and ferrying 5-6 passengers at times as they drive dangerously.
From April to September, the Andheri RTO has checked 6467 autos plying between Bandra to Goregaon. Off these they have found 2660 auto drivers at fault for some reason or other. The maximum offence is for ferrying extra passengers for which 604 drivers/ permit holders were fined. These are the drivers who operate on share basis.
Next are those 470 drivers who were booked for refusal of fares which again is a known phenomenon. In fact people have been complaining that drivers do not even acknowledge if one hails a rickshaw. Until now, 168 permits have been suspended and fines amounting to Rs 32. 86 lakh has been collected.
Similarly the Wadala RTO has started inspecting the auto rickshaws plying in eastern suburbs. Sources said that one of the things that has come forth is that many of the autos do not have hand brakes in good condition. The drivers in question gave reasons like there is barely any need for hand brakes in auto rickshaws especially due to road traffic.
Hand brakes are emergency brakes that is installed in every vehicle. "We are looking at the numbers of autos that do not have hand brakes. These will be needed when they come for renewing their fitness certificates," said an officer fro m Wadala RTO.
These brakes allegedly gets tampered with when it is parked on road. Children staying by the road or unscrupulous elements remove or break these hand brakes. The auto unions claim that its takes over Rs 10000 to repair them and so the drivers do not bother repairing it.
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