Unions suggest prepaid autos from railway terminuses, airport

Autorickshaw unions in Mumbai have called for prepaid services to be established at railway terminuses and the airport in an effort to tackle drivers who charge bulk fares in advance. The unions have suggested the introduction of a prepaid fare structure, with passengers paying a fixed amount at the counter before the journey fare is calculated on the meter. The move is intended to prevent passengers being asked to leave the vehicle before the end of the journey, which leads to a loss of the bulk fare.

Mumbai: Autorickshaw unions have suggested starting prepaid services from railway terminuses and Mumbai airport in a meeting held with the government authorities.

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Currently, there are no prepaid autorickshaws operating in the city. However, a few unscrupulous auto drivers demand a bulk fare in advance at the domestic and international terminals of Mumbai airport and claim this to be prepaid service.

On June 8, the auto unions complained against such drivers in a meeting. The unions 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.

“We have demanded that prepaid rickshaw stands can be started at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Bandra Terminus and Mumbai airport. We have suggested a prepaid fare structure for autos wherein a fixed amount up to ₹20 (this can vary once mutually decided) should be paid at the prepaid rickshaw counter. And the journey fare can be that which appears on the meter,” Thampy Kurien, an autorickshaw union leader, said.

The whole idea is that the passenger need not pay a bulk amount at the counter. This will prevent any loss of money in case an auto driver asks a passenger to alight midway without completing the journey and there is no refund of the advance paid by the passenger. Secondly, according to the unions, in case such an incident occurs or the autorickshaw suffers a technical failure then a passenger would lose only the fare and the nominal amount paid at the counter.

“We met the autorickshaw unions and we shall be having a joint meeting with the RTOs as well. Our drive against unruly auto and taxi drivers will continue,” a senior Traffic police officer said.

Hindustan Times had reported about how a few auto drivers were charging prepaid amounts from flyers at Mumbai airport. These fares are even high for short distances like Juhu, Andheri (W), Jogeshwari etc.

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”.

The unions said some drivers are hand-in-glove locally and without much worry, they demand high fares.