The pre-paid counter for auto-rickshaws, which was temporarily closed down after the drivers complained of some technical faults in the calculation of travel fares, will be reopened on the railway station premises on Saturday.
Traffic police officials said they reviewed the issue in detail and slight changes in the previously fixed fare to various locations would be permitted as per the demand of the drivers.
Compelling the traffic police wing to act swift, the auto-rickshaw drivers had resorted to a flash strike in the city stalling the service of over 4,000 auto-rickshaws.
The main allegation they put forth was the disparity in the actual meter charge and the charge mentioned in the ticket issued from the pre-paid counters.
Allegation According to the drivers’ unions, the amount printed on the pre-paid counter ticket was less than that of the actual meter charge.
“Many a time, the charge differences in the pre-paid counter ticket and the actual meter charge had led to a clash between drivers and travellers. It was after a discussion steered by the city police that the issue was settled amicably,” said Noushad, one of the union leaders of autorickshaw drivers in the city.
He also claimed that the drivers were not demanding an unreasonable hike as propagated by some travellers’ forums.
Assistant Commissioner of City traffic (South) Abdul Razak, who mediated the discussion with the drivers as per the direction of City Police Commissioner A.V. George, said there would be a slight increase in the travel charge with the reopening of the pre-paid counters as demanded by the drivers.
“The fare was fixed by the department after conducting a proper field study by travelling to various locations in the city,” he said.
Scrutiny According to Mr. Razak, the police officials travelled by autorickshaws to all prominent locations in the city in the last two days to finalise the amount after checking the accurate meter reading other than believing the version of the drivers.
“Hereafter, the fare finalised by the department will be entered in the tickets issued from pre-paid counters,” he added.
