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Autorickshaws to have electronic meter, but no printed receipt

Govt notification makes electronic meters on autos compulsory sans printer clause.

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You will finally travel in an autorickshaw fitted with an electronic meter but you will not get a printed receipt.

This is because the ‘printer clause’ has been excluded from the notification issued on Tuesday that makes e-meters compulsory for autorickshaws all across the state.

Installing a printer will be expensive for automen. “All new autorickshaws will need to have electronic meters from March and older autos will be fitted with them from April when they approach the local RTOs for the vehicle’s fitness test,” said a senior transport department official.

“But as decided, the clause of printers has been exempted for autorickshaws as it would have added financial burden on automen. Let them all get the e-meters first and printers can come subsequently,” he added.

The authorities have made it mandatory for autorickshaw and taxi drivers to provide commuters with printed or handwritten receipts. This will give proof of the journey along with its details such as the distance covered, fare and vehicle number and could be presented to the authorities while making complaints and even serve as evidence in courts.

At present, such a printer facility is available only in the city’s 20,000 new black-and-yellow taxis which began installing electronic meters in August 2008. However, the facility is rarely used as most commuters are unaware of it.

Autorickshaws usually have to pass a regular fitness test at the RTOs and now the fitness certificate would not be issued if an electronic meter has not been installed.

Commuters welcomed the decision saying that the move would curb the menace of overcharging to some extent. But they also suspect that the autorickshaw drivers would eventually find a way to tamper with these meters.

Dinesh Jain, a consumer activist from Mulund, said the bigger problem was refusal to ply and that the authorities should take up the issue seriously. “Electronic meters are a positive development but drivers should be considerate and not refuse fare,” he said.

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