Along with women and children, senior citizens too face the maximum troubles on the autorickshaw front. DNA found out that senior citizens have a tough time travelling after sunset.
“It is always after 7 or 7.15 pm that autorickshaw drivers start causing problems,” complained a senior citizen, Jyotsana Oak (73).
According to senior citizens across the city, autorickshaw drivers are very choosy. They refuse to go to certain destinations, if they reside elsewhere. There are some destinations that are preferred by them. Senior citizens complained that the drivers want passengers to go to areas where they wish to go.
“No one has actually come to me to talk about autorickshaw woes, but I know the issues that trouble all. Most of the times, the auto drivers refuse to go short distances, overcharge and the worst thing is people have lost trust,” said Sharadchandra Gokhale, president, International Longevity Centre - India.
He added, “When people come from different cities or alight from any train or bus early in the morning or late night, they avoid using autorickshaws because of the looting incidents. All this shows the deterioration of trust.”
“From Law College Road where I live, I have always been refused or overcharged to go to places like Karve Road, Kothrud and Chandni Chowk after sunset. It creates a lot of problems for us,” Jyotsana added.
In Model Colony, Shivajinagar, the elderly face similar problems. “I have been refused by autorickshaws from Shanipar to Model Colony a lot of times,” Anjali Gokhale (63) said, “From the ST stand in Shivajinagar, they refuse to ply by meter. Most of the times, they refuse customers if the destination is at a short distance. I have to wait for a bus then.”
From diesel, petrol or gas getting over to changing of shifts, autorickshaw drivers use various excuses to refuse senior citizens or overcharge them.
However, not all autorickshaw drivers refuse customers. According to a senior citizen on Law College Road, drivers start haggling with them to go somewhere by auto.
“I have come across this many times. If autos do not have passengers, they keep pestering us to use their rickshaw. In addition, sometimes they also want us to go only to the areas of their choice,” Dr MP Arya (73) said.
However, senior citizens do not face problems in the city areas alone. Fringe areas such as Aundh have disgruntled users of autorickshaws as well.
“At around 7 pm, I wanted to go from Paud Road to Parihar Chowk in Aundh, but a few autorickshaw drivers refused. One of the drivers even asked for Rs20 extra,” said Arun Ghosal, a senior citizen.
Senior citizens are helpless and cannot ride a bike or travel in cars. They have no option but to use autorickshaws to reach any place across the city, so they have to bear with the tantrums of the autorickshaw drivers.
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