With no takers, Swargate pre-paid auto service has shut down

Pune: The Pune Regional Tra-nsport Office (RTO) has shut the pre-paid auto stand at Sw-argate. The officials claim that it was not getting the required response. However, citizens say that they did not know such a stand existed in the first place.

Pune RTO officer, Jitendra Patil said that due to other tra-nsport modes being available, number of people hiring pre-paid autos were less than five per day, which was the least in the city. He said, “With the construction of the flyover underway, passengers refrained from taking the route. Thus, we had to close down the pre-paid auto stand. Once the construction of the flyover is completed, we’ll think about restarting it.”
Auto drivers refuse to wait in queue at the pre-paid stand. They complain that passengers do not use the service because of other options such as shared-rickshaws and the Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Ltd (PMPML) buses that are available near the Swargate ST bus stop. 
Chandrakant Godale, a retired school teacher from Mandalpur, was unaware that such a service existed. Treasurer of Department of Agriculture from Baramati, Jaywant Gaikwad, said, “I visit the city twice in a week. There used to be a pre-paid auto booth here a couple of years ago. However, I have not seen any pre-paid auto booth in the last 12 months. I prefer hiring a shared-autorickshaw as I don’t want to be overcharged.”