As the temperature hits new lows, auto drivers get a reason to fleece customers even more and they refuse to follow the revised rates. Despite an upgrade of rates a few months ago, most autowallahs in the capital don’t miss a chance to overcharge commuters.
Complains Pallabi Rajkonwar, a PR professional, “They just don’t agree to switch on the meter citing the cold weather as an excuse. And even if they do, they have their own conditions, like charging `20 or `50 more than the set charge.”
Many think that an additional charge would be ok if they’re taking the auto to a far off area or a place located on the peripheries of the city. “But they even charge a bomb to go to markets and malls, where there is no dearth of passengers even in this biting cold,” says Varsha Krishnan, a college student, who hates getting fleeced by auto drivers, but can’t do much if she wants to reach home on time. “The situation is really bad because if you don’t agree to shell out more, you’ll have to wait on the road till someone agreeing to go by the meter comes along (the chances of which are really rare),” adds Varsha.
Some grumble and say that auto drivers start following the table for night charges before 9 pm, when it must start after 11pm. “It’s cold for everybody, including me, and I’m not paid more if I’m in office till 9pm,” complains architect Vaibhav Vishal and mentions a recent incident when an auto driver asked him to pay the night charges at 8.30 pm. “I got really angry and I waited in the cold and took an autorickshaw driver who agreed to go by the meter. Thankfully, there are still some good auto drivers left in the city,” he says.