Auto drivers ignore meter, fleece flyers

Autorickshaw unions in Mumbai complain of drivers fleecing passengers with arbitrary fares for prepaid services at the airport. A meeting has been scheduled to address the issue.

Mumbai: Autorickshaw unions have complained that a few autorickshaw drivers have been fleecing passengers by operating prepaid services at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

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A meeting has been scheduled this week between the unions, RTO and traffic police to discuss the issue.

The unions have claimed that several auto drivers are facing issues as some rickshaw drivers at the airport’s Terminal 1 are charging arbitrary fares in the name of prepaid services.

The unions said several auto drivers and passengers are complaining that a few unscrupulous autorickshaw drivers demand ₹350-400 per ride as bulk fares rather than charging by the meter.

“We will meet RTO and traffic police officials. We have come to know that around 250-300 odd auto drivers at the airport wrongly charge prepaid fares. At present, the pre-paid system is non-existent and we have submitted our proposal along with a probable tariff schedule to the authorities, which will be beneficial to both passengers and drivers,” Thampy Kurien, an autorickshaw union leader, said.

These fares are even high for short distances like Juhu, Andheri (W) and Jogeshwari from the airport. The unions said the modus operandi is to catch travellers, who are new to the city, and inform them that “autos run on prepaid in Mumbai”.

“They are asked to pay a prepaid fare before commencement of the journey from the airport. The fares quoted are ridiculously high,” said Dhawal Shah of Lokhandwala Oshiwara Citizens’ Association, which has also come across a few complaints from members over the past few days.

The unions said some drivers are hand-in-glove locally and without much worry, they demand high fares. “There is every possibility that these rogue auto drivers grease palms to sustain their modus operandi and charge people on prepaid basis,” KK Tiwari, president of BJP auto rickshaw union, said.

The Mumbai airport has more than 3,000 autorickshaws and around the same number of taxis plying from its premises every day.