Flop show: Version 2.0 of Meter Jam crashes

The much-touted second version of the Meter Jam campaign received a poor response on Tuesday because of the drastically reduced commuter participation.

Only two suburbs of the city — Andheri and Mulund — showed support. In other parts of the city, it was just another day for commuters and auto and taxi drivers.

This, despite the fact that the campaigners made additional efforts to reach out to commuters and campaigned offline. The campaigners said that to spread the message among people who are not net-savvy, they distributed about 1lakh pamphlets.

The pamphlets were in English, Hindi and Marathi, to reach out to various communities.

Many were tucked into newspapers, while others were distributed at malls, railway stations, housing societies and colleges.
Around 300 volunteers registered on the website, of which 20 were selected and assigned zones along with the support of remaining volunteers. The areas included were Andheri, Kandivli, Mulund, Sion, Mira Road, Mulund, Thane, Powai, Goregaon and Borivali, the organisers said.

One of the three advertising professionals who initiated the campaign, Abhilash Krishnan, admitted that the city's commuters did not respond as enthusiastically to the campaign as they did in the first version of the campaign.

Also, this time there was no minister announcing his personal intervention in the issue or union leaders making cautious statements.

HR professional and Meter Jam campaigner from Andheri, Jishna Joshi, said, “For a humongous city like Mumbai, more volunteers were needed. Even if we had 1,000 volunteers, the number would’ve been inadequate. However, the important point is that the second version of the campaign is a reminder to the government that campaigners have not forgotten the issue.”

Another Meter Jam campaigner from Mulund, Jasmine Gandhi, who made available 13 vehicles for car-pooling, complained that despite their appeals to support the strike, commuters boarded autos. “No one is bothered about the issue. Four of us distributed around 20, 000 pamphlets in Mulund. Yet, we had only a few senior citizens and women walk up to us to register support to the campaign. Youth ought to come ahead to support such initiatives. There are not enough volunteers for the campaign.”

But, the campaigners are hopeful and have expressed the need to organise more campaigns which are ‘result-oriented’.

The Meter Jam, started on August 12, got great support online and generated a huge buzz among commuters. The second round, organised on October 12 hoped to see the same result, but did not. DNA talks to commuters and its organisers to find out what led to its failure in Mumbai.

The real world lost to the virtual one

I wasn’t aware of the second phase of the campaign and I’m sad about it. I did support it earlier as I feel that it is necessary for auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers to realise that it is their duty to take passengers wherever we want to go. For any campaign to succeed, public support is essential. If people will not support it, obviously it will not work in their favour and give them the desired results. Commuters have to realise it is important and come forward and show their support. People did show support online, but it has to work in the real world too.
The authorities too should come forward and help solve the problem.
Sonam Jain, Charni Road

We have to take it to the grassroot level

Like many others, I face the problem of getting an auto or taxi, especially during peak hours and when it’s a short distance. The attitude of drivers is utterly disgusting and quite often they are arrogant.  I fail to realise how they can refuse us service when we are paying them? These activities have to get mass and grassroot-level support, rather than be elitist. While most people expressed support online, there were very few who followed it in their daily routine. The campaign failed because of it. The  next time, the organisers must try and get the common man’s support, rather than a few youngsters who live in a virtual world. 
Vipul Bondal, Wadala

It’s a movement for people, so support it

Every new initiative will not get the response it expects. The same was the case with the Meter Jam. But, I’m sure more people will support the cause as it is a movement for the people. I’m sure the mark is made in people’s minds about it and it will gain momentum in the coming months. What’s more important is that we, the people, don’t lose hope and support it. Everyday, we face the problem of errant drivers and listen to their excuses of why they won’t ply to our destinations. Public transport in the city is not up to the mark. If auto and taxi drivers can come together and protest for fare hikes, why can’t we, the public?
Saumil Bhavsar, Santa Cruz

Campaign will change drivers’ attitude

I knew about the first Meter Jam campaign and supported it. The second campaign wasn’t well-publicised and many didn’t know about it. In my locality, there is an acute shortage of autos. Very often, auto drivers refuse point-blank and drive away. They don’t care about us, so why shouldn’t we support a campaign that boycotts them, even for a day. I have tried calling the helpline and have lodged complaints, but to no avail. The authorities, as well as citizens, must take concrete steps to ease commuting in the city. If people support such campaigns, I’m sure it will change the auto and taxi drivers’ attitude.
Anal Patankar, Navi Mumbai

No one has enough time to stop and think

I am not aware of the Meter Jam campaign. However, I do feel that such campaigns are the need of the hour. But I don’t think they will work. In a past-paced life, people don’t have time to spare for such causes. Everyone is in a hurry to reach their destination and with over-crowded trains and buses, they have to depend on autos and taxis. Even though almost everyone faces the problem, there will be very few who will support the cause because of our chalta hai attitude. Asking a taxi or auto driver to go somewhere nearby, and him agreeing, is almost next to impossible today. Therefore, to make a campaign work, everyone should support it.
Panduran Patil, Kalyan

People are smart, they refuse to fall for such gimmicks

The Meter Jam campaign seemed jammed today. The second phase of the campaign failed as most of the commuters weren’t even aware of it. People have refused to fall for such gimmicks. In fact, I went to crowded locations like Parel and Dadar and found that none of the campaign’s volunteers were there and people were taking taxis. Due to the festive season, many were busy shopping and taxis were plying like any other day.
It is not easy to convince and gather public support and tell people what they should do and what they shouldn’t. The last time, the campaign was successful because of media support. Therefore, its organisers thought they would receive the same response this time round too. However, it failed to gain the people’s support.

Anthony Quadros, president, Mumbai Taximen’s Union

Three people cannot stop Mumbai, no-show proves it

The campaign had to be a flop. The organisers are three children from rich families, so they do not and cannot understand what a daily commuter goes through. They thought that by organising a campaign against taxis and autos they would bring the city to a standstill. They had the support of the state government and transport minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil to sustain the drive against autos and our union. It was a success the first time. However, the second round tells us another story. It flopped and the people are not willing to support it anymore. It was business as usual and we didn’t face any losses. On the contrary, there were long queues for taxis and autos.

Sharad Rao, president, Mumbai Automen’s Union