Even after one year of the auto fares being revised from a minimum of Rs. 20 to Rs. 25, more than half the autorickshaws in the city are yet to recalibrate their meters.
“Barely 9,500 of the estimated 21,000 autorickshaws in the city have recalibrated their meters so far,” said Inspector of Legal Metrology Department S.C. Venkatram.
The revised auto fares came into force in January 2014 and the autorickshaws were given a four-month deadline to recalibrate their meters as per the revised fares. The Regional Transport Authority in Mysuru had increased the minimum fare for 1.9 km from Rs. 20 to Rs. 25 and for every kilometre thereafter, the fare was increased from Rs. 11 to Rs. 13.
When the matter was brought to the notice of the police, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Prabhakar Barki said there were around 21,000 autos plying in the city and they were routinely booking cases against autorickshaws for various offences, including faulty meters and demanding excess fare.
Apart from the public lodging complaints with the traffic police directly, complaints even come in the form of SMSs and posts on the Facebook page of the city police, he added.
Officials of the Legal Metrology Department said they had authorised 14 units in the city to recalibrate both mechanical and digital auto meters by collecting a fee ranging from Rs. 180 to Rs. 300. But, only nine of them were functioning now, an official said.
“We often conduct checks and autos without recalibrated meters have to pay a penalty of Rs. 2,500. The seized autos are released only after the meter is recalibrated,” the official said.
However, traffic police officials said that effective enforcement was possible if the Legal Metrology Department carries out checks at least every alternate day.
A department official pointed out that their inspectors, apart from checking autorickshaws for recalibrated meters, also carry out their stamping every year to prevent tampering. Autorickshaws that do not have their meters stamped will have to pay a penalty of Rs. 500.
“Each Inspector of the department books about 250 cases a year,” the official said.
The officials admit that all the 21,000 autorickshaws may not be plying in the city. While a few may have been sold to people in other cities, a few operate only as “line autos” that transport passengers along a particular route, giving stops at designated spots, while collecting a fixed amount from them. There are a few autorickshaws that only ferry children to school.
