Today, after a really long time, i took an auto home. The distance was just over two kilometres, so after several autos refusing to take me my way, i decided to try my luck on the other side of the road and who should come honking to catch my attention but a swanky new green auto complete with electronic metre.
"R.T.Nagar?", i asked and he replied in English "Where in R.T.Nagar Ma'am?""Main Road", i said. "30", he quoted. Beyond arguing, i agreed. Others were asking for incredible amounts of money.
One minute into the ride, he asked me in English, "Do you have 30 bucks change?" It won't be too far off the mark to say that my jaw dropped when i heard him use the word bucks. And, honestly, i was also impressed.
"Yes, i do." Usually, when auto drivers set the tone of the conversation by talking in English, i speak back a little bit in the language and switch to something more comfortable so that they find it easier to converse. I don't know what it was this time, but i decided to speak in English only, and asked him a question i have never asked an English-speaking autowallah before:"If you speak decent English, why do you ride an auto?"
"I work at a travel and tours company Ma'am. I ride the auto only on Saturday Sunday."
"Oh", i said, surprised. "Why only Saturday Sunday?"
"This is my own auto. My father rides it on weekdays. Two days, i give him rest and i ride on weekends."
"Where's the travel agency?"
"Chamrajpet."
"And how do you travel to work?"
"I take the bus. Actually, i have a vehicle, but the traffic is so bad, so i don't use it. I keep it for my mother and father, if they want to use it."
"Is it your own travel agency?"
"No Ma'am. My boss is travelling, in Malaysia. So i'm servicing customers right now."
"Are you from Delhi Ma'am?", he asked me.
Now that surprised me. Nobody's ever asked me if i'm from that Godforsaken place. No, i said."Oh okay. I thought maybe, the way you talked..." I again gave him a vehement no.
"You work Ma'am?", he asked.
"Yes, i do. I work for a technology company."
After that, there wasn't much conversation. We arrived at the end of the road, and he stopped his auto. I hopped out, handing him exactly 30 bucks. We smiled at each other and i said Thank you very much. And he said You're most welcome. He said, i can drop you till your home. I said, that's alright, i'll walk it.
He said, "You have no idea, you have made me very happy." I said, "Why? Because nobody talks to you in English?" "Yes", he said, and went away smiling.
I felt good. And i also realised that the reason some autowallahs speak up in English is because they want to practice talking it, feel around it, get comfortable with it. My reluctance to take them out of their comfort zone meant that they'd not be able to grow their zone to include English too. I'm just glad that i chose to continue the conversation in English today. And i'll continue to do that in the future.
And i'll look forward to more such pleasantly surprising encounters in the future.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Monday, April 16, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Return of the Auto Driver Hater.
I have news. I've been biking it for over two years now.
And every time i pass by an auto, looking at me like a dog looks at a bone, i smirk. And i zip past.
I don't think they realise how many people they're driving away because of their mentality. Their Auto Driver mentality.
Die, scum, die!
And every time i pass by an auto, looking at me like a dog looks at a bone, i smirk. And i zip past.
I don't think they realise how many people they're driving away because of their mentality. Their Auto Driver mentality.
Die, scum, die!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Yesterday was Bad Auto Drivers Day.
It started in the morning and like a broken record, went on till late in the night.
Last morning, i walked out of home with my cute little home-shaped lunch bag and my big Yellow handbag, got into an auto and was close to the office when i noticed that the metre showed 505 rupees. On honest metres, the amount is 55. On dishonest ones, it goes anywhere between 60 and 75 - which of course is completely pissing off.
So when i stop in front of the auto, fishing out 60 because of lack of change and handing it over to the autowallah, he turns, sees his metre and asks me how much it comes up to. I told him that 55 was the right amount, and that max it would go up to 60. yes, i was an idiot but that's no excuse for HIS behaviour - he palmed the 5 bucks extra and refused to give it, calling me all sorts of names and getting into an argument. He said that the metre showed 505, so shouldn't i be giving him that much? I lost it with him, and throwing the money on the seat, walked away. Halfway up the stairs to office, i realise i've left my lunch bag in the auto. I run down to hunt him but don't find him anywhere.
Fed up and extremely pissed and hungry by lunch time, M and i head out to the Brigade Road KFC for some meat. Get an auto without problems and ask him to take us there. He does, but stops at the Mota Arcade side of the road. No, no, we tell him, we have to go to the other side. Mulishly he refuses to go, saying there will be too much traffic on that side. And then he grudgingly takes us, muttering under his breath all the while.
Leaving from work in the evening, i find yet another autowallah to go to Cunningham Road. He asks me where exactly, and i tell him, "Near Sigma Mall". As we approach Sigma Mall and he slows down, i ask him to keep going straight and take a right. He stops and asks me where exactly i want to go, and i tell him that i want to get off near Fortune Hotel. He refuses straight out - it's a one-way, he'll have to go roundabout and come back at least a kilometre. Oh, so i have to walk a kilometre just so you don't have to travel a kilometre, i asked him. And he says, Fine, i'll come but you have to give me 10 rupees extra. Fuming, i gave him the metre amount and walked the rest of the way.
Ugh. I hate them. I want to shoot them all or give them a hard death. So much so that i'm thinking of starting a Supari Gang just against Autowallahs. Sneak up in the dark of the night and slit their throats with a sharp knife. Bastards.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
On your reluctance to tender change.
So i get off the auto and check,
The metre reads 42.
I hand over 45 because i don't have change,
And pray, Mister Auto Driver, what do you do?
You pocket the money
And turn away your face,
Pretending i've handed you the right amount.
While i stand there in disgrace
Because, whoaho, waitaminit
I don't care if its three rupees,
I've given you more than the metre.
So can i have the excess back please?
Isn't it enough that you ask copiuos sums
Of money, even in broad daylight?
Shouldn't you have some shame, some decency
Instead of gearing up for a big fight?
And fight you will, if i do so much as ask
For the coin you have so happily pocketed
Stretching lazily, you'll spew some paan
While you say, "Madam, prices have sky-rocketed."
"Whaaaat Madam you do like this?
For three rupees also you will fight!
I have so many mouths to feed, auto rent, petrol kharcha
Have some pity on my plight."
"Pity?" I spit out,
My blood slowly boiling.
"What pity? Why pity?
You think you're the only one toiling?"
And so it begins, the series of insults
The name-calling and reckless rampage
Till finally he sighs, shakes his head,
And gives his pocket a perfunctory rummage.
Out emerges the hand,
I wait, holding my breath
He holds out his palm, displaying nothing
And i instantly wish him violent death.
"No change Madam", he remarks smugly,
"If i had i would give, but what to do?"
Admitting defeat, i give him my parting shot:
"If I didn't give change you would create a ruckus, wouldn't you?"
The metre reads 42.
I hand over 45 because i don't have change,
And pray, Mister Auto Driver, what do you do?
You pocket the money
And turn away your face,
Pretending i've handed you the right amount.
While i stand there in disgrace
Because, whoaho, waitaminit
I don't care if its three rupees,
I've given you more than the metre.
So can i have the excess back please?
Isn't it enough that you ask copiuos sums
Of money, even in broad daylight?
Shouldn't you have some shame, some decency
Instead of gearing up for a big fight?
And fight you will, if i do so much as ask
For the coin you have so happily pocketed
Stretching lazily, you'll spew some paan
While you say, "Madam, prices have sky-rocketed."
"Whaaaat Madam you do like this?
For three rupees also you will fight!
I have so many mouths to feed, auto rent, petrol kharcha
Have some pity on my plight."
"Pity?" I spit out,
My blood slowly boiling.
"What pity? Why pity?
You think you're the only one toiling?"
And so it begins, the series of insults
The name-calling and reckless rampage
Till finally he sighs, shakes his head,
And gives his pocket a perfunctory rummage.
Out emerges the hand,
I wait, holding my breath
He holds out his palm, displaying nothing
And i instantly wish him violent death.
"No change Madam", he remarks smugly,
"If i had i would give, but what to do?"
Admitting defeat, i give him my parting shot:
"If I didn't give change you would create a ruckus, wouldn't you?"
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Why do autowallahs do that?
You know, look down at their crotch at regular intervals while driving? It's not like they're detachable body parts that will fall off if you're not careful or looking frequently enough. Uff.
I've noticed it on several occasions. And i notice it particularly because i've had a couple of bad experiences with autowallahs around town. So everytime their hands or eyes stray there, i'm thrown into immobility. After the first instance that happens though, my eyes keep going there just to make sure they're not being assholes.
But it's funny, really. I haven't figured out why they keep looking at their crotch. Or maybe they're looking at the ground below their crotch, at their feet. But why would they want to do that? I mean, there's so much more interesting stuff to look at out the windscreen - a butt crack out to take a breather from the tight jeans the woman on the Kinetic is wearing; or a man slowly pulling his girlfriend's hand forward and caressing it; or the middle-aged pot-bellied pseudo-youngster on the Honda Activa picking his nose, thinking he's being surreptitious but not actually. Better still, they can crib in Kannada about how the traffic is, or discuss in glee the extra money they've asked from their poor passengers.
I guess it can be attributed to them being men: apparently, the species thinks about sex once every six seconds. And i guess their manhood is just symbolic of it. Some sort of subconscious reflex.
Ugh. Whatever.
I've noticed it on several occasions. And i notice it particularly because i've had a couple of bad experiences with autowallahs around town. So everytime their hands or eyes stray there, i'm thrown into immobility. After the first instance that happens though, my eyes keep going there just to make sure they're not being assholes.
But it's funny, really. I haven't figured out why they keep looking at their crotch. Or maybe they're looking at the ground below their crotch, at their feet. But why would they want to do that? I mean, there's so much more interesting stuff to look at out the windscreen - a butt crack out to take a breather from the tight jeans the woman on the Kinetic is wearing; or a man slowly pulling his girlfriend's hand forward and caressing it; or the middle-aged pot-bellied pseudo-youngster on the Honda Activa picking his nose, thinking he's being surreptitious but not actually. Better still, they can crib in Kannada about how the traffic is, or discuss in glee the extra money they've asked from their poor passengers.
I guess it can be attributed to them being men: apparently, the species thinks about sex once every six seconds. And i guess their manhood is just symbolic of it. Some sort of subconscious reflex.
Ugh. Whatever.
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Auto Art.
On my way to a restaurant last week in an auto that had the usual depiction of women and tragic ends to a love that is never quite forgotten. It's quite interesting how the same theme is protrayed differently each time. I remember one auto that had a girl sitting by the sea and crying, and another - several actually - that claimed one should trust a snake if need be, but never a woman.
Interesting concepts, don't you think?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Auto Art.
Who says only Bangalore has fundu-looking autos splashed with colours and portraits? This one i saw when i went to Mumbai for a friend's wedding. Seemed like a good one to start off my photoposts on autos, considering i have a car to drive me around now.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Close Encounters of the Dubious Kind.
I drove from home to office today for the first time. And i brushed an auto bumper.
Fully afraid already, bumping into the auto was almost the last straw. As i saw the autowallah get out of the driver's seat, i put on my most puppy-dog look. He marched out, saw the bumper and went, "Kya madam?"
With my hangdog expression, i went, "Sooorry bhaiyya!" and "Chod do bhaiyya, sorry bhaiyya!"
He saw my expression and tried to control the smile that played on his face, but it showed through. Slightly. Then he turned to my driver, seated next to me, and went, "Yen Saar?" and my driver goes, "Kalista idini odsodue. Yenu agilla bidi."
So then he quietly went away, and i continued to office.
Sigh. If only all autowallahs were like him.
Fully afraid already, bumping into the auto was almost the last straw. As i saw the autowallah get out of the driver's seat, i put on my most puppy-dog look. He marched out, saw the bumper and went, "Kya madam?"
With my hangdog expression, i went, "Sooorry bhaiyya!" and "Chod do bhaiyya, sorry bhaiyya!"
He saw my expression and tried to control the smile that played on his face, but it showed through. Slightly. Then he turned to my driver, seated next to me, and went, "Yen Saar?" and my driver goes, "Kalista idini odsodue. Yenu agilla bidi."
So then he quietly went away, and i continued to office.
Sigh. If only all autowallahs were like him.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Integrity.
I have come to realise that no matter how many cars you own, you better keep alive your connections with the infamous world of autorikshaws. Here's why.
Red, my car, has a driver who takes him cruising around town, dropping my mother and me off to our respective workplaces, taking us shopping, eating out and do plenty other stuff. There have been times though, when Red's services have been unavailable to me. Like this morning, when the driver went on leave and i had no choice but to take an auto. From my grandmother's place, which is in the back of beyond.
Sure i can drive, but i refrain from doing so simply because i'm too young to be imprisoned for life, for committing mass murder on the roads.
There were five... no, eight autos waiting to bait wary travellers at the Jagdishnagar bus stop. True to tradition, a good three-quarter of the drivers were missing from their autos, while the rest left behind carried the legacy of immobility forward by refusing to go anywhere.
One autowallah finally agreed to drop me off at 100 feet road - a tactic that i often bring into play when the autos refuse to see me to my destination. It requires changing autos from mid-point or wherever, but at least i'm not wasting time.
Anyway, i got into the auto while sending up a silent prayer of thanks.
Close to CMH Road the autowallah asks me, "CMH Road or 100 feet road?" Confused because i'd forgotten i was travelling in an auto, i said "100 feet road...no, CMH road. Actually, any auto stand where i can get autos from easily." He nodded his comprehension, and a took a turn that i hadn't expected in a million years. Reason? I knew not of a single auto stand within a 1 mile radius of that place. Unless things had changed so drastically in the couple of months of my travelling by car that new auto stands had cropped up there.
Our man had a different tactic in mind. He stopped all empty autos he met on the way, asking if they would go to Residency Road. The second auto agreed, and i got off after paying the fare in the auto that i'd come in. Just as i went to board the second auto, the driver asks me, "Kidhar madam?" and i say, "Residency Road". He made a clucking sound and zoomed out of there. Without me in his auto!!!!
My first auto was still there, so i told him incredulously, "That auto you stopped is gone!" The man just murmured his sympathies and took off too! The cheek! I was left stranded in the middle of nowhere - at least a nowhere for autos - without any means of transport!! I fumed and fumed because i had to walk up the road in extremely uncomfortable heels till i found an auto willing to take me where i wanted to go.
May those two autos burn in hell. At least there was a saving grace - neither asked for any extra.
Red, my car, has a driver who takes him cruising around town, dropping my mother and me off to our respective workplaces, taking us shopping, eating out and do plenty other stuff. There have been times though, when Red's services have been unavailable to me. Like this morning, when the driver went on leave and i had no choice but to take an auto. From my grandmother's place, which is in the back of beyond.
Sure i can drive, but i refrain from doing so simply because i'm too young to be imprisoned for life, for committing mass murder on the roads.
There were five... no, eight autos waiting to bait wary travellers at the Jagdishnagar bus stop. True to tradition, a good three-quarter of the drivers were missing from their autos, while the rest left behind carried the legacy of immobility forward by refusing to go anywhere.
One autowallah finally agreed to drop me off at 100 feet road - a tactic that i often bring into play when the autos refuse to see me to my destination. It requires changing autos from mid-point or wherever, but at least i'm not wasting time.
Anyway, i got into the auto while sending up a silent prayer of thanks.
Close to CMH Road the autowallah asks me, "CMH Road or 100 feet road?" Confused because i'd forgotten i was travelling in an auto, i said "100 feet road...no, CMH road. Actually, any auto stand where i can get autos from easily." He nodded his comprehension, and a took a turn that i hadn't expected in a million years. Reason? I knew not of a single auto stand within a 1 mile radius of that place. Unless things had changed so drastically in the couple of months of my travelling by car that new auto stands had cropped up there.
Our man had a different tactic in mind. He stopped all empty autos he met on the way, asking if they would go to Residency Road. The second auto agreed, and i got off after paying the fare in the auto that i'd come in. Just as i went to board the second auto, the driver asks me, "Kidhar madam?" and i say, "Residency Road". He made a clucking sound and zoomed out of there. Without me in his auto!!!!
My first auto was still there, so i told him incredulously, "That auto you stopped is gone!" The man just murmured his sympathies and took off too! The cheek! I was left stranded in the middle of nowhere - at least a nowhere for autos - without any means of transport!! I fumed and fumed because i had to walk up the road in extremely uncomfortable heels till i found an auto willing to take me where i wanted to go.
May those two autos burn in hell. At least there was a saving grace - neither asked for any extra.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Auto drivers meet their match.
Oh, how many times have i wished for quick wit and sharp retorts; never more when i come across smart-alecy auto drivers who think they're God's gift to those without an alternative mode of travell. I fumble, stutter and stammer. And by the time i can think of a suitably smart one, the moment's lost.
Thankfully, plenty of my friends and acquaintances make up for my lack of smart mouthedness. Here are some of my all-time favourites:
1. CJ to autowallah demanding extra: "Kyun bhai, aur kya kya de rahe ho hamein?"
2. Yam to autowallah demanding extra: "Kyun, gaadi mein AC hai kya?"
3. Ramesis to the Nth auto refusing to come to Residency Road: "Karachi chalogey kya?"
4. Nitasha to Nth auto refusing to take her home: "Nai bhiayya, aap batao kahan jayenge, hum waheen chale jayenge."
5. Ramesis to an auto that stops: "Aagey jao, nai chahiye."
I shall keep adding to this as and when i hear some smart ones.
Thankfully, plenty of my friends and acquaintances make up for my lack of smart mouthedness. Here are some of my all-time favourites:
1. CJ to autowallah demanding extra: "Kyun bhai, aur kya kya de rahe ho hamein?"
2. Yam to autowallah demanding extra: "Kyun, gaadi mein AC hai kya?"
3. Ramesis to the Nth auto refusing to come to Residency Road: "Karachi chalogey kya?"
4. Nitasha to Nth auto refusing to take her home: "Nai bhiayya, aap batao kahan jayenge, hum waheen chale jayenge."
5. Ramesis to an auto that stops: "Aagey jao, nai chahiye."
I shall keep adding to this as and when i hear some smart ones.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Mannubhai motor chali pom pom pom!
I am now the proud owner of a car. Phew. The relief. No more autos.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Just this once, i hate honesty.
So it was that i had waited for an auto for a really long time (as usual), standing defenseless against the rain (and the passing motorists). An autowallah finally decided to have some pity on me and carried me home. For 10 rupees extra.
His metre was fast...bloody fast. If it was a couple of rupees fast, i wouldn't have minded. His was 20 rupees faster and i couldn't not do anything about it. So i told him. "Sir, nim metre tumba fast ide." ("Sir, your metre's very fast.")
For two whole minutes, he didn't say a thing. And then he said (in Hindi), "See madam, i am not going to deny the metre is fast, because it is. People do it on the sly but i will be honest with you - it is set at ten paise extra for every rupee. What to do ma? How is one supposed to manage children's school fees, three square meals a day, petrol, house rent and auto rent on the normal fares? Some people give the money quietly, some others give it and then say 'Ya, ya, you cheat and take money and it will never work for you'. What to do madam?"
Yes, i'm a sucker. I quietly paid him the metre amount. And the extra.
His metre was fast...bloody fast. If it was a couple of rupees fast, i wouldn't have minded. His was 20 rupees faster and i couldn't not do anything about it. So i told him. "Sir, nim metre tumba fast ide." ("Sir, your metre's very fast.")
For two whole minutes, he didn't say a thing. And then he said (in Hindi), "See madam, i am not going to deny the metre is fast, because it is. People do it on the sly but i will be honest with you - it is set at ten paise extra for every rupee. What to do ma? How is one supposed to manage children's school fees, three square meals a day, petrol, house rent and auto rent on the normal fares? Some people give the money quietly, some others give it and then say 'Ya, ya, you cheat and take money and it will never work for you'. What to do madam?"
Yes, i'm a sucker. I quietly paid him the metre amount. And the extra.
Monday, August 6, 2007
Kaho Na... Pyaar Hai.
Me: "Auto!"
Pot-belly: High-browed look
Me: "R.T.Nagar?"
Pot-belly (Contemplative): "150 rupees Madam."
Two minutes.
Me: "Auto!"
Rajnikanth moustache: Questioning look
Me: "R.T.Nagar?"
Me: "Jaymahal?"
Me: "Munireddy Palya?"
Me: "Cunningham Road?"
Me: "B******!!!" (After he goes away)
Ten minutes.
Me: "Auto!"
Mr.I-deserve-more: "Where to madam?"
Me: "R.T.Nagar Main Road?"
Mr.I-deserve-more: "20 rupees extra Madam."
Half an hour.
Me: "Auto!"
Stud-boy: "Kidhar jaana Medam?"
Me: "R.T.Nagar Main Road."
Stud-boy: "80 rupees hota Medam."
Me: "20 rupees lelo bhaiyya."
On the way home.
Me: Looking outside.
Stud-boy: Driving.
Second auto with a bunch of eunuchs (Can't think of a better word, sorry) as passengers.
E1: Looks stud-boy up and down. Performs the X-ray again.
Our auto passes by. Two minutes later, second auto catches up.
E1 to stud-boy (Sexy drawl): "Kya rey, itta mast hai tuuuuu..." (What da, so hot you are)
Stud-boy: Embarrassed. Zooms away.
Second auto catches up again.
E1: "Ikdum Ittik Roshan jaisa hai na reeeee..." (You are just like Hritik Roshan no da)
Stud-boy: Completely flabbergasted.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. There is justice in this world.
Pot-belly: High-browed look
Me: "R.T.Nagar?"
Pot-belly (Contemplative): "150 rupees Madam."
Two minutes.
Me: "Auto!"
Rajnikanth moustache: Questioning look
Me: "R.T.Nagar?"
Me: "Jaymahal?"
Me: "Munireddy Palya?"
Me: "Cunningham Road?"
Me: "B******!!!" (After he goes away)
Ten minutes.
Me: "Auto!"
Mr.I-deserve-more: "Where to madam?"
Me: "R.T.Nagar Main Road?"
Mr.I-deserve-more: "20 rupees extra Madam."
Half an hour.
Me: "Auto!"
Stud-boy: "Kidhar jaana Medam?"
Me: "R.T.Nagar Main Road."
Stud-boy: "80 rupees hota Medam."
Me: "20 rupees lelo bhaiyya."
On the way home.
Me: Looking outside.
Stud-boy: Driving.
Second auto with a bunch of eunuchs (Can't think of a better word, sorry) as passengers.
E1: Looks stud-boy up and down. Performs the X-ray again.
Our auto passes by. Two minutes later, second auto catches up.
E1 to stud-boy (Sexy drawl): "Kya rey, itta mast hai tuuuuu..." (What da, so hot you are)
Stud-boy: Embarrassed. Zooms away.
Second auto catches up again.
E1: "Ikdum Ittik Roshan jaisa hai na reeeee..." (You are just like Hritik Roshan no da)
Stud-boy: Completely flabbergasted.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. There is justice in this world.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Easy Auto.
A novel concept has been introduced in Bangalore - the first i heard of it was this morning on my way to office. It's called Easy Auto. Remember those times in school when we had autos whom we paid every month, and who came and picked us up from home and dropped us back in the evening? Well, this is a service for adults. (Nothing X rated about it. At all.)
The Karnataka Autorikshaw Association along with Bangalore cops (i don't know what their association is called) have started this thing. You can bet your shiny *** that this is going to whoop the backsides of all those snooty drivers who ask for atrocious sums of money any time of the day to go even as far as a 100 yards. And the thing is, it works out as well for drivers as it does for passengers - the autowallahs get a steady income every month from the fixed passengers, besides making money from other passengers through the day. And for us passengers, well, it's a Godsend.
The mandates that are created for the autowallahs would be cause for immense glee to any Bangalorean who's stood for hours on end waiting for one decent auto to agree to take him/her to his/her destination, minus any extras - it's almost like the cops' families and the association people have experienced how anal autowallahs can be, and sympathise with us. Take this for example: the auto must be equipped with an electronic meter, the autowallah should carry a mobile phone (doesn't affect out lives so much, unless we're fixed passengers), must have a steady supply of water and, get this, soft drinks in the auto; he cannot, at any point in the day, refuse to take any passengers wherever they want to go; nor can he charge an extra pie.
Apparently, the response so far has been good. My auto's EA (short for Easy Auto) number was 101, which means there are 100 more around the city that i know of. Who knows how many more there are - every day, two or three of them trickle out of the woodwork and pledge to reform themselves by registering with EA.Oh, and passengers get a cool Pepsi kit when they register for the facility. And they get plenty of goodies along with it.
Happy days are here agin. It's probably one of those few times i'll be glad to get back to a life similar to school.
P.S: Anyone interested can call +91 9844112233 for more details or to register. (CTA, the bane of advertising life.)
The Karnataka Autorikshaw Association along with Bangalore cops (i don't know what their association is called) have started this thing. You can bet your shiny *** that this is going to whoop the backsides of all those snooty drivers who ask for atrocious sums of money any time of the day to go even as far as a 100 yards. And the thing is, it works out as well for drivers as it does for passengers - the autowallahs get a steady income every month from the fixed passengers, besides making money from other passengers through the day. And for us passengers, well, it's a Godsend.
The mandates that are created for the autowallahs would be cause for immense glee to any Bangalorean who's stood for hours on end waiting for one decent auto to agree to take him/her to his/her destination, minus any extras - it's almost like the cops' families and the association people have experienced how anal autowallahs can be, and sympathise with us. Take this for example: the auto must be equipped with an electronic meter, the autowallah should carry a mobile phone (doesn't affect out lives so much, unless we're fixed passengers), must have a steady supply of water and, get this, soft drinks in the auto; he cannot, at any point in the day, refuse to take any passengers wherever they want to go; nor can he charge an extra pie.
Apparently, the response so far has been good. My auto's EA (short for Easy Auto) number was 101, which means there are 100 more around the city that i know of. Who knows how many more there are - every day, two or three of them trickle out of the woodwork and pledge to reform themselves by registering with EA.Oh, and passengers get a cool Pepsi kit when they register for the facility. And they get plenty of goodies along with it.
Happy days are here agin. It's probably one of those few times i'll be glad to get back to a life similar to school.
P.S: Anyone interested can call +91 9844112233 for more details or to register. (CTA, the bane of advertising life.)
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