Auto
incorrect be an o t d e e n s w Autoricksha or if the current ect organised s ressed. d d a e b o t d ee problems n licy initiatives from po But with no ent, Merlin Francis the governm who will do it wonders,
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hey are one of the most despised sections of society. And not without reason. They fleece passengers, are brazenly rude, and are seemingly a group impossible to rein in. They are namma auto drivers, of course. Innumerable attempts have been made in the past to bring auto drivers on track. Needless to say, these have come a cropper. From soft skill lessons for auto drivers, to strict enforcement and pre-paid autos, both traffic police and well-meaning sections from civil society have made efforts to improve services. But for commuters in the city, autorickshaw drivers continue to be a necessary evil. They are necessary, of course, since autorickshaws provide that crucial last mile connectivity in public transport. Without then, the city would have more private vehicles on roads just because last mile connectivity would be a gap that no other services, except non-motorised transport can currently fill. One of the elementary reasons why these efforts have failed, according to those who have worked with autorickshaw drivers, is the lack of organisation. “We have been organising soft skills training for auto drivers for a year now. In the last year, we were able to reach 850 of them,” says MA Saleen, additional commissioner (traffic). The biggest challenge he has faced during these sessions is the lack of organisation. “Without an organisation to approach, only those who were genu-
Q&A
inely interested came forward. Reaching out to the rest has been a problem,” he admits. The numbers speak for themselves. Of about 1 lakh autorickshaw drivers in the city, 850 drivers have had soft skills training. That’s 0.86% of the target population. Saleem, however, claims that this, along with other efforts such as pre-fixed auto stands, etc, have made a difference in the number of complaints by commuters: it has reduced. Padmasree Harish who, about a decade ago began Easy Autos, does not seem to have to the energy now to even talk about her experience. When asked what had gone wrong, she said, “The organisation’s focus was on ad-
dressing commuter problems and not autorickshaw drivers. As long as I was paying them out of my own pockets, it was fine. But when I couldn’t handle that anymore, we stopped it,” she remarked. Getting autorickshaw drivers organised is one solution offered by many experts, but Harish recalls that despite knocking on many official doors, there was nothing that the government wanted to do for them. Obvious reason why things had gone grossly wrong for her. A study by Akshay Mani,Madhav Pai and Rishi Agarwal of Embarq, a sustainable transport non-profit, looked at the role of the autorickshaw sector in sustainable urban transport.
It suggested that this sector needs a policy vision in order to meet the objectives of the National Urban Transport Policy. It needs to be organised. According to the study, auto rickshaws should act as last mile connectivity, along with non-motorised transport, such as bicycles and walking. “Autorickshaw services, integrated as feeder modes providing first and last mile connectivity for public transport services, help ensure that public transport is accessible to all parts of the city. In this role, autorickshaws will also ensure accessibility to public transport for commuters with special needs, such as the elderly and people with disabilities,” says the report. However, currently, because of the lack of adequate public transport, autorickshaws act as IPTs (intermediate public transport) substituting buses for long distance commute. And so, one suggestion made by autorickshaw drivers was that in order to help them, number of buses on road should be reduced. Instead of complementing services, autorickshaws see buses and the Metro as competition. In order to iron out these issues, the report had suggested that apart from improving public transport services, autorickshaws also need to provide dial-a-rickshaw services. But, dial-arickshaw services work best when autos operate as a fleet, and not individual operators, as it works today. “The lack of organisation poses a barrier for the provision of dial-up ser-
vices. Regulatory reforms that allow fleet-based operations with dispatch services to enter the auto-rickshaw sector could help address this issue,” the report said. While there are private efforts to organise autorickshaws in this manner, such as Namma Auto by Three Wheels Auto Private Limited which is slowly increasing its fleet of autos, officials in the transport department do not believe such organisation is possible. “The sheer number of autos and the fact that the unions, who have a very different ideology, are a problem when it comes to organising auto drivers. Private efforts also may not work,” says a senior official in the transport department. He, however, believes that training programmes in both soft skills as well as driver refresher programmes can help. “We have many refresher programmes for BMTC and KSRTC drviers. With the driving training institute in Bangalore and Dharwad, and more in the pipeline, it is possible that we will be able to improve services,” he argues. While the government, not-forprofit organisations and thinktanks keep brainstorming the issue, both commuters and autorickshaw drivers can only wait. merlin.francis@dnaindia.net
Auto Shivkumar, radio jockey for a couple of hours in a week, auto driver for the most part of his life and do-gooder by heart, believes it is possible to save the auto driver from the wrath of commuters, with a few changes.
There are many complaints when it comes to autorickshaw drivers. So, what’s the problem?
The problem with autorickshaw drivers today is that no one seems to realise that things are different from what it was 20 years ago. Not just the price rise but also in terms of competition. Apart from buses, there is also competition from the additional autorickshaws permitted by the transport department. Moreover, although they provide an important service to commuters, nothing is being done for them. The recent strike was a success because the concerns are very real for autorickshaw drivers. Do you have a solution?
Autorickshaw drivers need to be organised. The government has to take steps for this. This organisation should be done along the lines of the BMTC. Why can’t a
system be worked out where drivers are hired by the government, paid salaries and the ticket revenue goes to the government. The system has to be computerised so that there is transparency. But, how will this ensure that drivers behave well?
Organising drivers into fleets and giving them some training in soft skills and language will go a long way in helping autorickshaw drivers. There also has to be a solution to the traffic problem. Both passengers and authorities need to realise that the distance that used to take 30 minutes, 20 years ago now takes an hour to an hour and half. Apart from revenues coming down, autorickshaw drivers also go through immense stress. When auto rickshaw drivers cannot make enough money to pay even their debts, some turn to crime.
What do you want for autorickshaw drivers?
During my programmes on Radio Active I try to help auto drivers. I tell them that they should be dressed crisply, like a military man. Their behaviour should be considerate. I think this is possible, with some training and a little effort. Do you believe that the government has done nothing for autorickshaw drivers?
That’s true. For instance, even when autorickshaw drivers are awarded for their honesty, this is an award — often a piece of paper or a trophy. An autorickshaw driver cannot feed his children or put them through school with this? Why can’t the government offer better subsidies? This will encourage auto drivers to behave better. As told to Merlin Francis
Auto drivers and public users are not on opposite sides of the fence
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Radha Chanchani
utos are the primary paratransit mode in Bangalore, an important and integral part of its public transportation systems. They play a significant supplementary and complementary role, plugging the gap between other public and private transport modes. Given their convenience much like personalised transport, autos are practically the ‘last line of defence’ before losing out to private modes. Autos are more cost-efficient, space-efficient and environment-friendly compared to the sheer volume of private vehicles. For the same capital cost, they carry more passengers, don’t hog as
much precious road / parking space, contribute lesser to traffic congestion and pollution. Moreover, they provide employment to individuals/entrepreneurs from lower income groups, at a relatively low investment cost. Being totally in the private sector (a ‘for profit’ trade), autos provide a valuable public transport service, sans government funding and little if any subsidy. However, despite their significant merits and role, autos receive little attention in the urban transport debate. Rather, because of their seeming demerits —which are at times the result of skewed
perceptions or symptoms of larger systemic issues —there is a negative image and disparaging attitude towards them in general; with laws/regulations tending to focus more on limiting or discouraging them. There is practically no planning for them and little is done to integrate them into the overall picture. It is important to recognise that though there are shortcomings, autos in themselves are not bad. What is required is enabling policy and planning that capitalizes on their positives and minimizes their negatives. For starters, it is necessary
to acknowledge their merits and role in catering to the mobility needs of scores of people in the city and their potential in increasing the share of public passenger transportation as a whole. It is of utmost importance to improve autorickshaw services and integrate them with other public transport systems (in ways that are supplementing/complementing and not competing), in order to check the rapid and disturbing shift to private vehicles. This would in turn help reduce traffic congestion/chaos, air and noise pollution, accidents, stress etc on city roads.
In this context, the growing anger and frustration among public users regarding auto services is matter of grave concern. One realises though that the public’s experience and perception is just one side of the story. There are multiple players/stakeholders in the system, multiple dimensions and perspectives that need to be understood and addressed in order to bring about more holistic improvements and make it work for all concerned. It is crucial for the public to also be aware of issues plaguing the autorickshaw sector and bring them into focus while demanding for im-
provement in services, apart from complaints and demanding for stricter monitoring/ enforcement measures and penalisation, which are of course required as well. For instance, it is important to realise that the auto driving community also faces corruption and exploitation from different quarters, the financial pressures of which often trickle down to the users, as auto drivers have no other means to make ends meet. This is not to make excuses or favour any one faction or the other, but to emphasise the need to dig deeper and look beyond only one side of the story or per-
spective. It appears that auto drivers and public users are not on opposite sides of the fence as is commonly felt, but in fact need to come together to demand for improved governance, service and quality of life for both. If all stakeholders are better informed, they would be better equipped and more effective in addressing root problems, apart from just trying to tackle the symptoms. The author is an urban planner-designer at CiTSUP, IISc with a keen interest in transport, environment and urban planning/design issues