Student stands up for autowallahs
Living in Delhi, it’s a hassle dealing with auto drivers of the capital. We complain and crib about their rude behaviour and discourteous attitude, but we rarely stop to think that they may also have a point. Their behaviour may have stemmed from something that’s bothering them.
This is what Sunakshi Bansal, a student of Communication Design, Pearl Academy, realised while working on a college project that is now a part of the Delhi government’s efforts to make the city people friendly. Sunakshi’s fare chart and passenger charter was selected for the Bhagidaari Mela and now will be displayed at various bus stops in the capital.
“The transport department has approved my design to be put up in every auto. It was a new additional transport commissioner who liked the idea and put it up for display at the recently held Bhagidari mela, where it was noticed by the CM. She liked it so much that she decided to take the project forward and spread awareness with it,” she says.
But the entire project wasn’t exactly easy. Sunakshi had to put in a lot of effort. Under the college project, she had to work with the theme, “communities”. “After brainstorming in group sessions and discussing various social issues that different communities are facing, we chose the community of auto rickshaw drivers in Delhi. We then researched about the problem deeply to be able to devise a design solution,” says Sunakshi, who went to different NGOs that work for the cause, interviewed more than 200 auto rickshaw drivers, met the auto rickshaw union leaders of Delhi and interviewed passengers about their auto rickshaw travelling experiences.
“I came to the conclusion that the problem is just not with the drivers. The basic problem is that we don’t have a system in place. If we, as commuters, complain about the attitude of the auto drivers, we should also know some of the basic rules. The commuters are not aware of the extra tariff that they are supposed to pay during certain situations. Like, if we ask the auto rickshaw to wait for us, they have the right to charge us extra. If the luggage increases by a certain amount, the commuters have to pay extra for that as well,” says Sunakshi, who has highlighted all these things in her fare chart and has also studied about different solutions that other states have adopted and has proposed it to the government in her project.
Since she has done a well-researched job, she hopes that besides putting up her charts at bus stops, the government also takes up steps to improve the situation. “Steps should be taken not just to make commuting easier for the public, but things should be made easier for auto drivers as well,” she says.
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