'2,000 complaints but no govt response yet'

Despite submitting more than 2,000 commuter complaints against errant cab and autorickshaw drivers, transport authorities have failed to initiate any action, alleged organisers of the Mumbai chapter of India Against Corruption (IAC).

Despite submitting more than 2,000 commuter complaints against errant cab and autorickshaw drivers, transport authorities have failed to initiate any action, alleged organisers of the Mumbai chapter of India Against Corruption (IAC).

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The IAC has created a software to record commuters grievances sent via text messages. The complaints are forwarded to the transport commission office for action.

Initially, the portal only accepted complaints against autorickshaw drivers. The service has been extended to cabs now. Till Monday, the software recorded 2,156 complaints against autorickshaw and cab drivers. Of these, the highest number of complaints (1,222) was related to refusal of fares followed by faulty meters (520).

Organisers allege that despite the huge volume of complaints submitted, they have not received a response from the transport authorities. "We have been trying to get an appointment at the transport commissioner's office since the past week to know the status of our complaints and whether the authorities are facing any hurdles in initiating action. But the authorities are dodging us," said Preeti Sharma Menon, IAC volunteer.

Activists however insisted that all complaints, whether submitted collectively or individually, should be addressed. "Besides, the government toll free number is not functional and that is why we created a substitute software," said Mayank Gandhi, IAC Mumbai coordinator.

Transport commissioner VN More did not respond to HT's calls despite repeated attempts.