For many visitors, the most enduring image of the city is not its monuments or landmarks, but that of its autorickshaws and their unruly drivers. A number of committees have tried to address the issue of autorickshaw regulation over the years, but nothing much has changed.
With the problem coming to a head and the Transport Department considering various policy measures to tackle the issue, a report on the ‘Socio-economic study of autorickshaw operation' was recently submitted to the State government by the Chennai City Connect, an NGO working on traffic and transportation issues.
The highlight of the report is that it also contains the views of autorickshaw drivers. A survey of more than 500 drivers throws up some interesting observations, such as why many do not prefer to use LPG.
Balchand Parayath, Chief Executive Officer of City Connect, says that since a number of autorickshaws in the city are shared by two or more drivers, it is difficult to monitor fuel usage. “Refuelling of LPG can only be done in certain pre-determined volumes. Drivers prefer to hand over the autorickshaw to another person with the same level of fuel.”
As a result, only six per cent of the autorickshaws in the city run on LPG. According to Transport Department figures, 39 per cent of the autorickshaws in the city are fitted with LPG kit.
The report scientifically estimates the reasonable autorickshaw fare per km to be around Rs.8.30. Also, it estimates that a hike in petrol price by Re.1 leads to a per km fare hike of only around 40 paise.
Interestingly, the official pre-paid autorickshaw fares (at least the one in Chennai Central) is almost equal to this value and yet many drivers demand more. According to the report, this is because of the less distance (<100km) they clock everyday.
According to the Chennai Traffic and Transportation Study, 72 per cent of the Chennai's trip length is short distance of less than five km. The report says “With such a large possible rider clientele, it should be right to expect the average daily trip distance to be far in excess of the current 100 km. This is one reason why other cities like Bangalore and Delhi have lesser km cost as the average distance travelled per day is around 150 km. Since many autorickshaws operate for only 5-6 hours and are idle for the rest of the day, charges are more and this leads to a cyclic problem.”
The recommendation is to encourage an information sharing association, thereby giving rotational movement direction just like call taxis. Suggestions have also been made to look at organised autorickshaw bays near bus depots and the proposed Metro Rail stations, improve behaviour through formation of companies that have unique branding, and to introduce a specific driving licence for autorickshaw drivers.
J. Seshasayanam, general secretary of the Madras Metro Auto Drivers' Association, says that the government has repeatedly ignored suggestions from drivers on how to improve the system. “Give permits only to drivers. Currently 70 per cent of the autorickshaws that ply in the city are owned by someone else. The driver has no stake to improve services. Also, increase the number of Auto LPG dispensing stations and enforce fare meter system after scientifically fixing fares.”
He says autorickshaw trade has suffered due to constant conflict and “many people are using it just for emergency. The number of trips we get has drastically come down.”
A senior Transport Department official said that aspects such as health insurance to drivers and specific training courses to help them are under consideration.
