‘We won’t organise Meter Jam 3, but will help people seek results’

The Meter Jam campaign, which involves citizens boycotting taxis and autos, organised its second round on Tuesday. DNA spoke to Abhilash Krishnan, one of the three advertising professionals who started the campaign, to see what happens next

What do you think of Tuesday’s campaign? Was it a success?
The campaign was good, but could have been better. It was not as successful as the first round, though. We had hoped to garner more support this time.

What were you expecting on Tuesday? How was the experience?
We went to various stations, including Andheri and Mulund, and even colleges, like Bhavans and NM, to create an awareness. Our aim was to make people aware, and some percentage of people supported us. We distributed pamphlets explaining why we were doing this and why one should support it. Once we explained our purpose, citizens seemed interested in the campaign, but most wanted results.

Did people volunteer for the campaign and was car-pooling  a success?
There were eight to 10 volunteers on the field on Tuesday. As far as car-pooling was concerned, there were about 25 calls on the website and many citizens used the service. A number of our volunteers organised cars, too.

Which cities were targeted in the campaign?
The event was planned in Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi and Bangalore. But due to the Commonwealth Games in Delhi and sparse participation from Chennai, it went ahead only in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Will there be a Meter Jam 3?
No. We are looking at launching a result-oriented campaign. Going by the citizens’ response, we found that they are more focused and worried about getting results. They do not want to say ‘no’ to taxis and autos, but want their complaints to be dealt with by the police and road transport authorities.  Citizens want someone to look into the matter and find out what happens after someone files a complaint, as in most cases, there’s no follow-up. Therefore, instead of a Meter Jam 3, we will try and work out a sustainable platform — an intermediary between the road transport authorities, traffic police and citizens — to get updates on citizens’ complaints.