Seeking to give a push to enforcement of the fare meter system in autorickshaws the city, the district administration has arranged for the supply of adequate number of fare meters and sanction of bank loans.
A handful of dealers in electronic meters, along with mechanics for calibration, have set shop at the office of the Regional Transport Officer, Tiruchi West at the Pirattiyur to fix the meters for autorickshaws on the spot.
Besides, officials of the district lead bank are at hand to recommend sanction of bank loans to needy auto drivers. Auto drivers are required to invest about Rs. 5,000 for fixing the electronic meters along with the battery.
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The initiative by the district administration comes in the wake of complaints from a section of autorickshaw drivers and drivers unions that there was a short supply of meters in the market and the devices were being sold at a high price in view of the big demand.
Consequent to a recent order of the State government extending the revised meter fares fixed for Chennai to the rest of Tamil Nadu, the district administration had notified that autorickshaws should fix the meters before December 5. As per the government order, the minimum fare (for the first 1.8 km) for autorickshaws will be Rs. 25 and Rs. 12 for every additional kilometre.
But a majority of the estimated 7,000 autorickshaws continue to ply without the meters even after the expiry of the deadline.
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District Collector Jayashree Muralidharan, police and transport officials had held a meeting with the representatives of autorickshaw unions last week to discuss the issue when the complaints were aired. Autorickshaws were given a week’s time to fix the meters.
“We found there was some substance in the complaints. Hence we have brought in manufacturers and dealers of meters to sell devices at the RTO. This will serve as a kind of one-stop solution for the auto drivers. Mechanics are available for calibrating old meters,” Ms. Muralidharan told The Hindu after inaugurating the process of fixing meters at the RTO office along with Commissioner of Police Shailesh Kumar Yadav.
Asserting that the district administration wanted to ensure compliance, Ms. Muralidharan said the process of fixing the meters for all the autorickshaws could take a few days time.
About the enforcement of meter fares, Mr. Yadav said that drivers should comply with it as soon as they fix the meters.
“By operating with meters you will stand to gain by way of attracting more customers. The city’s image will also improve,” he told the assembled autorickshaw drivers.