Auto operators still call shots on fare

Though the city traffic police have formed a committee to regulate the notorious shared autos in the Millennium City, the drivers still have a free hand in deciding the fare and the number of passengers to be stuffed in a vehicle.

Though the city traffic police have formed a committee to regulate the notorious shared autos in the Millennium City, the drivers still have a free hand in deciding the fare and the number of passengers to be stuffed in a vehicle.

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Though the drivers have got uniforms, there are still no meters installed in their vehicles.

An ideal day sees nonchalant jumping of red lights, breaking of traffic rules, overcharging, overloading of passengers and a dismal regard for the safety of commuters.

"Many of the auto-drivers are underage too. If the police have formed a team to keep an eye on them, then why has the situation not changed in Gurgaon," asked a harried commuter.

The city police claim they are doing their bit to control the situation.

"We get many complaints about auto-drivers and their misconduct. These complaints include driving vehicles with tampered registration plates, overloading passengers, misbehaving with passengers and violation of traffic rules. To control such incidents, we have taken several steps in the past," said a senior traffic police officer.

The officer further said the police had challaned 11,675 auto drivers till March 31 this year.

But clearly, these steps have not been enough to douse commuters' anger.

"It seems the cops are only concerned about issuing challans. Underage drivers ply on city roads without any licences. The city administration earlier promised to look into the matter and monitor auto drivers' unruly behaviour, but all this has been done only on papers," said Amit Sharma, another commuter.

Earlier, city deputy commissioner PC Meena had said he has sent a proposal to the state government to decide on a uniform fare system for autos in the city – a la Delhi.