GPS-fitted autos to end passenger agony soon

All autorickshaws will be fitted with the GPS meter which will print a ticket at the end of every trip with distance and rate mentioned. Customers need to pay only what is mentioned in the ticket. This system will be monitored by a centralised control room set up in New Avadi Road which will monitor the vehicles,” a senior transport official said.

The official added that autorickshaws will also have a panic button which passengers can use when in distress. However, not all auto drivers are convinced that the new system will be helpful especially as they face stiff competition from aggregator services such as Ola, Uber etc.

“It is going to be very difficult to stick to government fares as we have to be part of local auto stands or ply independently without restrictions. It is also mandatory to shell out over a lakh of rupees initially to get enrolled in a union’s stand,” said a city-based auto driver on conditions of anonymity. “Further, the members of the union will continue to pay nearly 15,000 every month. In turn, the union will safeguard its members from the wrath of enforcement agencies.”

However, when contacted, the president of Auto Drivers and Passengers Welfare Association, V Kripa, said, “The unions never indulge in collecting exorbitant money. We collect a minimum amount from the drivers on a weekly basis. The sum is utilised for the welfare of auto drivers and the rest is divided among us”.

A driver V Rajesh with an auto-hailing app operator, said, “Things are going to be the same even after introduction of the new system in a full-fledged manner. The government announced new tariff in 2013. Even then, the autos are not complying to the stipulated fares.”

A commuter, S Vaidyanathan, said, “The auto drivers fleecing commuters are continuing without any respite. The commuters will be happier if drivers are willing to turn on GPS enabled metres instead of giving a standing reply that instrument is nonfunctional for days together.”

Several announcements were made to make autorickshaw drivers fall in line in the last five years. In 2015, the State Transport Authority directed Regional Transport Offices to stop issuing permits to new autorickshaws to focus on regulating the existing ones.

After a delay of five years, the government rolled out the first phase of the project where 15 auto rickshaws are fitted with GPS and enables to generate a bill at the end of the trip. A higher official from Transport Department said that another 2,500 autos will be roped in under this pilot project.