It’s not a fair share plan: commuters

While share-rickshaws are a better bet to finding an empty auto and convincing the driver to take you to your destination, commuters complain that the traffic police are not keeping a check on what’s happening at 93 share-rickshaw stands in the city, where drivers constantly break rules and behave badly.

While share-rickshaws are a better bet to finding an empty auto and convincing the driver to take you to your destination, commuters complain that the traffic police are not keeping a check on what’s happening at 93 share-rickshaw stands in the city, where drivers constantly break rules and behave badly.

HT Image

On Saturday and Sunday, Hindustan Times visited four share-rickshaw stands — at Kandivli, Jogeshwari, Chembur and Ghatkopar — to check what was happening at these spots. While at Ghatkopar there were no queues observed by either people or auto drivers, in the neighbouring suburb of Chembur (West) there is a systematic share-rickshaw system being followed though it is not an authorised stand.

The big problems when it comes to share-rickshaws are over-crowding and bad behaviour, say commuters.

“Often, during peak hours, auto drivers cram four to five people in an auto. And the traffic police are doing nothing about it,” said Divyesh Naidu, 25, a marketing professional from Goregaon.

College student Ravi Raj, 17, who lives in Jogeshwari (East), said these drivers alert one another if a traffic policeman is posted ahead so that they can escape without being fined.

Nidhi Sampat, a media professional from Santacruz, said: “As there are so many people waiting in long queues for share-rickshaws, the drivers have absolute disregard for commuters. They behave very badly with elderly people. And if you threaten to complain against them, they ask you to do as you please,” said Sampat.

Women complain they face a lot of trouble getting autos during rush hours. “The crowd is maddening and people jump into share-rickshaws without standing in queue. It is completely chaotic, and women lose out,” said Anshula Bichu, a 25-year-old Borivli resident.

Shashank Rao, assistant general secretary of the city’s biggest auto union, the Mumbai Autorickshawmen’s Union, claims only auto drivers operating illegally — that is, without permits — behave badly. “We have appealed to the regional transport office to take action against them,” Rao said.

Motorists said share-rickshaw stands are a nuisance on crowded roads. Vijay Sahewala, 44, a businessman, said: “On crowded roads such as those leading to and from railway stations, share-rickshaws create a ruckus. They don’t wait at the designated stand and park arbitrarily.”