Without fare card, auto drivers fleece commuters

Taab Arshad, 20, has been commuting from her house in Lokhandwala to Santacruz every day for a month, but she is still unsure of how much the ride should cost her.

Taab Arshad, 20, has been commuting from her house in Lokhandwala to Santacruz every day for a month, but she is still unsure of how much the ride should cost her.

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"The auto fare has differed from Rs73 to Rs99 for the same distance," said Arshad, a media student.

After the latest auto fare hike, complaints have been pouring in of drivers not carrying the new fare cards and overcharging by showing commuters fake cards. "One cannot tell which fare chart is genuine," said Margaret Andrade, 61.

The Chembur resident recently travelled from Aziz Bagh to the station and the autorickshaw driver asked her to pay Rs40 when the fare according to the meter reading should have been Rs32. "I do not know if the new white-coloured fare card the driver was carrying was authentic. There's nothing I can do about it, so I quietly pay and get off," said the housewife.

According to assistant regional transport officer, Panaji Chavan, irrespective of whether the distance, the passenger will have to pay only Re1 extra than the previous fare now. "The original fare card can be identified by the government authorised RTO seal at the bottom of the card," said Chavan.