Mumbai: The incident of a 19-year-old student who had landed in the city from the United States being fleeced by an autorickshaw driver at the airport is yet another eye-opener. Many autorickshaw drivers are increasingly a menace, especially at the airport, BKC, and near major railway stations, say activists, alleging that not enough is being done by the authorities. At many places, there is hardly any visibility of the police, they allege, and rogue drivers go scot-free.
Advocate Godfrey Pimenta, a passenger rights activist, said: “At airports, there are no proper autorickshaw fares displayed for those arriving by flights daily. Also, unlike taxis which have prepaid stands, and fares are fixed in advance, an auto driver can demand inflated fares.”
Pimenta alleged there is hardly any presence of police and RTO at airports, railway stations like Bandra Terminus and LTT, and in Bandra-Kurla complex where drivers fleece passengers.
Activists have now pushed for prepaid auto stands at the airport. “There is a cartel of drivers, and if someone flees a commuter and gets a hefty fare, it’s his earning for the day,” said activist Anil Galgali, who in the past wrote several petitions to the police and RTO, but in vain.
Traffic police, however, said they have been cracking down on errant auto drivers. Between Jan 1 and Dec 22, traffic police issued 7.08 lakh challans to errant auto drivers, with fines running up to Rs 26.8 crore. “If we receive a complaint, we certainly act on it,” said a senior traffic police officer. “We also send a dummy passenger to the airport and at railway termini to identify and intercept auto drivers fleecing commuters.”
An Andheri RTO official said a squad will watch outside stations and commercial districts. Here’s how you can lodge a complaint against autorickshaw drivers. For Andheri RTO, WhatsApp complaint on 9920240202 or email mh02autotaxicomplaint@gmail.com. For Borivali, WhatsApp on 8591944747 or email mh47autotaxicomplaint@gmail.com. For eastern suburbs, WhatsApp on 9152240303 or email. For Wadala RTO mail mh03autotaxicomplaint@gmail.com.
