Daily commuters and those arriving in the Capital at railway stations opting for auto-rickshaws alleged harassment due to the cash crunch, claiming that drivers charged close to double the actual fare.
Hard bargain
While daily commuters complained of having to indulge in hard bargains given the paucity of auto-rickshaws actually willing to take customers, passengers arriving at the railway stations felt they were the worst affected.
‘Fleeced’
Subhasish Bhattacharjee, a 47-year-old account manager with a private firm, claimed he was fleeced by an auto-rickshaw driver at the New Delhi Railway Station.
“I had to go to Dilshad Garden, the fare for which is around Rs.150. However, no auto-rickshaw driver was willing to go by meter and all of them asked for Rs.400 because I only had Rs.500 currency notes,” Mr. Bhattacharjee claimed.
“They said they don’t have change for Rs.500 and that Rs. 400 was the least they could charge. Since I was already tired after a long train journey and had luggage, I had no option but to cough up the amount,” he added.
Others like bank executive Shikha Chaturvedi complained that the driver of the auto she had hurriedly boarded to the nearest metro station from her office in Connaught Place — refused payment via a prominent e-commerce platform. He demanded Rs.100 for a ride that usually costs Rs.50.
“I thought I was better placed than other commuters because I could pay the precise fare amount, but the driver demanded payment in cash citing the cash crunch. I had no option except to pay up,” she complained.
Sales executive Vikrant Sharma complained that auto drivers sought to capitalise on the lesser number of vehicles present on the streets and demanded Rs.50 each from commuters sharing their vehicle.
