Mid-day Investigation: Mumbai's thieves on three wheels

Your ride in an autorickshaw in Mumbai might just cost you more than a flight ticket when counted perkm Mumbairsquos autowallahs seem to be giving the countryrsquos most expensive rides ever If a MumbaiDelhi flight on an average costs R3000 for a 1150km distance which breaks down to about Rs 265 per km Mumbairsquos fleecing auto drivers have been charging on an average Rs 100 per km This is four times higher than the official meter fare of Rs 23 for a minimum distance of 15 kmmidday visited autofleecing prone locations in the Western suburbs and found that autos on an average ply at about Rs 70R100 per km per seat at many locationsCommuters alleged that it is only because of the utter negligence or involvement of traffic cops and RTO that such rackets continue with impunitymidday reporters went on a test drive in Malad where several auto drivers refused to go by meter PicSuraj PandeyMalad station to AksaMany auto drivers charge arbitrary fares Some auto drivers take advantage due to the limited access to particular places like Aksa beach in Malad which sees a good number of visitors especially on weekends and in summer vacationsAlso Read Mumbai Irregular Juhu speed breaker at crash spot removedAs per the rule auto rickshaw drivers have to charge by meter and commuters have to pay according to it However at several places across the western suburbs right from Bandra to Dahisar many auto rickshaw drivers go by sharing while at some places they refuse to go by meter and charge exorbitant fares midday also visited several places across eastern and western suburbs to see how auto drivers are fleecing the commutersmidday took a test drive and travelled from Malad station to Aksa beach and Aksa to Malad station return While returning from Aksa the auto driver charged almost 85 per cent higher fare than Uber and meter autosThe number of passengers in autos can go up to 6 as seen here at Gorai or even 8 including children PicPrajakta KasaleWe conducted a test drive at Malad railway station at around 6 pm We asked some of the autorickshaw drivers for Aksa beach and most said ldquoThe fare will be Rs 200rdquoWhen asked to go by meter one of the drivers said ldquoNow there will be traffic and I wonrsquot get commuters from there So the charge is fixed and I will not go by meterrdquo A couple of other autorickshaw drivers gave the same reply Uber Auto on the other hand showed a fare of R165 We approached a few more autorickshaw drivers many of them were not ready to go by meterAt Aksa beach returning to Malad railway station was big trouble as almost all the autodrivers refused to go by meter and asked commuters for Rs 250 Many commuters were seen bargaining with them but they gave multiple reasons saying there is traffic we wonrsquot get commuters while returning etc At around 820 pm we asked an autorickshaw driver to go to Malad station and he said ldquoYou have to pay Rs 250rdquoWhen we asked him to go by the meter he said ldquoNo one will go by the meter over hererdquo A couple of other autorickshaw drivers gave the same reply When we said we were ready to pay the auto drivers started arguing among themselves and each one insisted we travel in his vehicle Some even dropped the price and asked us to pay Rs 200 but later when we reached Malad station the driver charged us Rs 250 saying ldquoour rates are fixedrdquoThe reporter was asked to pay R250 to go from Aksa beach to Malad railway stationRajan Singh a commuter looking for an autorickshaw said ldquoThese local auto drivers take advantage of commuters by charging exorbitant fares They are not ready to go by meter If you donrsquot have a private vehicle then here you have only two options one is the BEST bus which is not so frequent and the second is the autorickshawrdquoBorivli station to GoraiThousands of visitors go to Gorai every day once the vacations start as it has many tourist attractions including Golden Pagoda Esselworld Water Kingdom and the Gorai beach The autos from Borivli station generally run as per the meter The distance is 34 km and ideally the fare should be Rs 52 but fares go up to R65 depending on the traffic on the busy station roadWhen we reached Gorai Jetty on Sunday the auto fare went up to R55 There are buses also which have Rs 5 tickets up to the last stopThe disciplined queue for autos at Vile Parle stationOnce groups of tourists exhausted and in a hurry to return home reach the gate of the jetty and are not in the mood to stand in long queues for buses the dynamic fares of autos start There were many autos inviting commuters on a share basis The share fare is R30 per person and there are four persons in an auto The same share fare is R20 when one takes an auto from Borivli to GoraiThe fare increases if commuters hire the whole auto The number of passengers can go up to 6 or even 8 including children and the fare depends on the driver The fare till Borivli station ranges between Rs 200 and Rs 300 Long distance services for eastern suburbs like Mulund or Bhandup are also available and the fare is above Rs 1000Chaos at Bandra Terminusmidday had highlighted in January how the auto mafia outside Bandra east station had put up their own tariff cards The posters had rates of share autos from Bandra east station with destinations and locations for the morning and evening with rates hiked in the evening stating traffic jams etc The posters stated names of various prominent destinations where crowds from the railway station usually throng like Diamond Company ICICI and BKC due to absence of adequate public transport services or connectivityldquoWhy are auto rickshaws not being regulatedcontrolled in and around Bandra station and Bandra Terminus Not a single auto rickshaw driver is ready to ply by meter They demand R120 for 1 kmrdquo a commuter Praveen Jain saidldquoI returned from Ahmedabad at Bandra Terminus None of the autowallahs was ready to go by meter Each one was asking seat wise or fixed fare After trying for 20 minutes I had to shell out R100 to reach BKCrdquo a passenger Samir Tekriwal saidAuto drivers in Bandra west also overcharge customers on many routes A group of auto drivers stands at the entrance of the railway station yelling at people to catch their attention Commuters have to shell out R30 to R40 per head for a trip from the station till Mount Mary Steps that should ideally cost between R23R35 Other local destinations include Linking Road and National College Carter Road Bandstand and Mount Mary A couple of autorickshaws ferry people to Khar Danda and charge Rs 20 per head which is lower than the RTO rate of R23 So in a single ride with three to four passengers drivers earn Rs 60 to Rs 80Vile Parle a success storyldquoWe had been facing the problem at Vile Parle and as a solution we got in the traffic police with the help of local citizens police mohalla committee members and started disciplined Auto Q during rush hours No refusal allowed I had started this in Vile Parle east before the COVID19 lockdown and manned it every evening 6 pm8 pm for six months It was a huge success and commuters of Andheri east used to alight at Vile Parle and take autos for few bucks more The then Additional Commissioner of Police traffic Pravin Padwal had supported this wholeheartedly hence the success Since then Vile Parle east commuters rarely face auto issuesrdquo social activist Dharmesh Jhaveri saidCitizens speakldquoThe biggest location for auto driversfleecing in Mumbai is the route from Terminal 2 to Andheri west where they demand Rs 300R900 for Andheri west an average distance of 11 km to 12 km Taxi drivers are from another world as they demand Rs 500Rs 1500 based on distance in Andheri west Last week a few people I know paid as much as Rs 1500 for Shastri Nagar in Andheri west The cases have become more and more frustrating with the closure of Gokhale Road Bridgerdquo citizen activist and cofounder of LokhandwalaOshiwara Citizens Association LOCA Dhaval Shah saidldquoAll suburban rail stations with businesses and colleges are a thriving hub for fleecing auto drivers Borivli Kandivli Andheri and Bandra are infamous locations for fleecing commuters who are helpless and at the mercy of such looters The BEST and the traffic department too are to blame for this harassment as they have failed to provide essential services and to take action against auto drivers who break the law Can BEST answer why the very needed service from Bandra station east to the Diamond Market BKC was stopped and shifted to the bus depot opposite Bandra court Itrsquos a pain walking till there on dirty and broken roadsfootpaths amid the pollution and traffic messrdquo social activist Dharmesh Jhaveri saidConversation with a rickshaw driverReporter Why donrsquot you all charge by meterAuto driver ldquoAll these autos are from Aksa village and we donrsquot go by meter From Malad we wonrsquot get a fare We have to come emptyrdquoReporter ldquoThe other guy who was arguing with you didnrsquot seem to be a villagerrdquoAuto driver ldquoNo he is also a villager however we all charge a fixed amount of Rs 250 from the commuterrdquoReporterldquoBy the meter it will cost only Rs 160 to Rs 170rdquoAuto driver ldquoYes thatrsquos the fare and if there is traffic the meter might go up to Rs 180rdquoReporter ldquoAnother driver was ready to take us by sharingrdquoAuto driver ldquoHe might have charged you Rs 150 per personand taken another two commuters and earned around Rs 350rdquoBy Suraj Pandey Prajakta Kasale and Rajendra B Aklekar