Shared autos, a bigger menace in MMR

Shared auto rickshaws in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region are causing havoc for residents. Drivers charge flat fares, often double the metered fare, and refuse to go by meter. Overloading, rash driving, and little accountability are also issues. Residents are calling for both shared and metered rickshaws to operate so they have a choice. Some are using app-based rickshaws to avoid shared rickshaws.

Mumbai: If you thought the menace of shared auto rickshaws is only limited to the city, wait till you see the havoc they cause in the broader Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).

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In the areas of Vasai, Virar, Kalyan, Dombivali, Thane, and more, the issue is pervasive and overbearing, squeezing residents to a fault.

The problem in these areas arises not only because of the presence of the shared rickshaws, but the simultaneous absence of rickshaws willing to take rides based on the metered fare. Instead, they simply state a flat fare – double or more than what the metered fare would be.

Shekhar Joshi, a former journalist and resident of Dombivali west recounted the story of travelling to Dombivali East for an event. “Two rickshaws told me a price of ₹100, all for a short distance! I let both go, but when a third rickshaw asked for ₹80, I agreed as I was in a hurry,” he said. He asked the rickshaw driver to let the meter run too, just for his reference; the fare according to it was: ₹48.

Joshi said that the drivers use the excuse that they have to cross a bridge to charge more, and that commuters have no other choice but to pay up. Overloading and rash driving are common accompaniments. There is also little power that the Regional Transport Office (RTO) or traffic police can exert over them, as the drivers are tied to politically connected unions. Any action taken against them is surface level and lasts for but a few days – a farce.

Joshi said he doesn’t fundamentally have a problem with the shared autorickshaws wants both shared and metered autorickshaws should operate, so that the residents have a choice. Office-goers prefer the shared autorickshaws as they enable them to reach the station at an affordable fare of ₹10 to ₹15.

Narrating an incident in Nalasopara, Hoshiyar Singh Dasoni said, “Today morning an autorickshaw hit the back of my two-wheeler. He didn’t even care to apologis, and simply sped away.”

Many residents said they had complaints about the chaos outside Nalasopara station, which had lines after lines of shared rickshaws, making it near impossible to mover aroun during peak hours. The drivers don’t wear uniforms, drive rashly, and no amount of reasoning works with them.

This was echoed by Joshi, who added that many residents have shared booking app-based rickshaws to bypass the shared rickshaws.

Babu Meshri, leader of an autorickshaw union in Vasai, elaborated on the perspective of autorickshaw drivers. “If one individual has to go to a destination for ₹50, he can do the same thing in a shared rickshaw for ₹10 or ₹20. This way the driver can also earn a little extra.”

Meshri added that if any autorickshaw driver refuses to go by meter despite the commuter’s wish, the passenger can contact him.