Auto strike in the city a terror

by **ravi** » Wed Feb 19, 2003 8:54 pm

What\'s the real reason for this sudden auto strike in the city? I had a terrible experience with my old parents. I got neither an auto nor a free bus today to travel. Finally we got into a taxi which charged almost three times the normal rate. Please share all.

by RP » Wed Feb 19, 2003 9:29 pm

Sitting at a place on the other side of Earth, I read in Deccan Chronicle that the reason is \"police harassment\". Autos form the backbone of Hyd, as I have experienced since the time I knew the world in Hyd. During my last visit I saw several thousands of them in Hyd. I often chat with auto drivers and I heard three things more often than others - (1) petrol prices, (2) potholes in roads and (3) police brutality. I guess everybody needs to vent anger every now and then in every avenue possible. This is one of those moments, I am sure.

by **;-)** » Thu Feb 20, 2003 11:23 am

Dear Rathi, as RP said, everyone needs to vent out their anger, thats what Ravi is doing on RP as he cant do it on auto drivers.

by **hyd\'baddie gal** » Fri Feb 21, 2003 8:53 am

WEll Ravi, May b u r new in the city ... cuz everyone knows about the way the traffic police harass autowallahs here...the other day i myself had this experience..the poor guy was just talking to me while i was asking him if i can hire his services and the traffic police took him to task just like that. That poor autowallah was in such a tight spot. The other auto i boarded gave me the info that they will keep the poor guy\'s auto for 3 days and fine him some 400 bucks!!! FOr no fault of his! so i think they need to raise their voice against it

by **goodface** » Fri Feb 21, 2003 10:02 am

Well hyderabadigril i do not think u know how the autowallahs harass the common passengers. Do you know that they swindle you to the max when it comes to pay them the fare. They seem to have no change to any amount you give and they are also very arrogant and rude. They need to be checked by someone otherwise there would be no end to their highhandedness.

I agree the other day it was the fault could be the police officers. But do you agree or not that you to get harassed by the autos.

by **goodface** » Fri Feb 21, 2003 10:21 am

Ravi, the autowallahs have frequent unending demands and they wanna make their own rules and regulations. They do not follow the traffic rules. They are meters do not seem to function properly. I can tell only 10% of the total auto meters are correct. All others seem to swindle you and when we question them they have the nerve to say that you are the only one complaining about it till now none have done it. To check these irregularities the police has put in some rules which they do not want to bide to.

Once the auto is out it means it is out for business. They have to cater to the needs of the passengers, but they seem to have their own whims and fancies to going to particular place. On sensing an urgency they tend to loot you the to maximum.

I do agree that the police is also at fault sometimes as your good friend hyd\'baddie gal has said. But most of the time it is the fault of the autos either to increase the fares or to stop police interfering with them, or some other damn cause. Either ways the common man is at a loss.

by **goodface** » Fri Feb 21, 2003 10:22 am

That was typo mistake read it as hyd\'baddie gal instead of hyderabadigirl

by **Purushothama** » Fri Feb 21, 2003 6:31 pm

Hyderabad roads look so nice to drive these days as auto rics are off the roads. Let them continue their strike, but don\\\'t blame police. Auto drivers 1. should fallow rules 2. be courties 3. keep the meters properly 4. take passengers where they want with out asking questions

by RP » Fri Feb 21, 2003 7:04 pm

I agree with hyd\'baddie gal. Goodface - you may have some bad experiences but let me suggest this. The other person responds based on the way we treat them. I can tell you that I always try to be liberal with them, talk as a friend of theirs, give them exact direction to the place I want to go to, and most importantly negotiate ahead of boarding the auto. Now what am I negotiating for? (1) Is you meter old or new? (2) Do you know where you are going? (3) Are you expecting any extras et cetera. The more important thing is to be courteous and treat them with dignity. The moment we believe we are better than them, they are sure to put on an equal if not a worse mask over themselves. I got to tell you. Most of them are good guys. My conversations helped me understand this. Most of them rent the auto for about Rs.120 to 150 a day. Working 12 hours they earn a maximum of Rs.400 (the minimum as low as Rs. 250). The petrol can be around Rs.50 a day. Now that leaves a minimum profit margin of Rs. 100 to a maximum of Rs. 275. That would be a minimum of Rs.3000 to a max of Rs. 6750 a month. Now assume 10% maintenance on the auto. These guys are taking Rs.2700 to Rs. 6100 a month. That is if they work 12 hours a day without a day off in a month. Is this fair? I very rarely experienced problems with the auto guys and that probably was when I was an immature brat trying to count the 15 paise in my pocket.

by **purushothama** » Fri Feb 21, 2003 11:17 pm

RP feels like a socialist. It is a simple rule. Accept the rules fixed by Govt. and be good to Passengers because they are the people who hire them and pay them. It is simple like taxis in Bombay. They don\'t qwestion u about irrelevent things. They charge u by the meter and return the chane too! I never a saw hyd ric fellow doing this. U can be simpathetic but there are more such professions worse than this.

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