A woman journalist from Kochi, unfamiliar with Kozhikode city, alights at the railway station and hires an autorickshaw to Chalappuram. It starts raining heavily as the vehicle reaches the destination. She hands the driver a ₹100 note, but he does not have the change.
He returns the cash saying, “I will collect the fare later,” and drives off.
Used to seeing rude and troublesome autowallahs who often overcharge, the journalist is surprised and impressed. Humane, friendly, and fair – the autorikshaw drivers of Kozhikode city are a class apart. But not many know that a majority of them are striving to stay afloat.
“I have been an auto driver in the city for over three decades now. There are days when I don’t get any money to take home,” says C. Kesavan of Mundikkalthazham, sitting at a tea stall near the railway station on a Saturday afternoon.
Most drivers here do not own vehicles and, therefore, rent autorickshaws. There are people who own around a dozen or more. “Rain or shine, we need to pay the owner ₹350 to ₹400 a day as rent,” Kesavan says. Only if the earnings are well above this amount, do they get their wages. There are around 4,400 autorickshaws with permits to ride within the city limits.
“The main villain is the hefty charge levied by the Transport Department for sanctioning city permits. It costs around ₹2.5 lakh now, which most of us cannot afford,” Mr. Kesavan says. Banks grant vehicle loans only to those with permits. To purchase a new vehicle and get city permit, one may have to spend anywhere over ₹5 lakh.
C.P. Mohammed Rafi, another driver, claims the fares are unscientific too. The area under the Kozhikode city corporation is getting expanded over a period of time. However, the fares are not revised accordingly, he says. “Suppose a family of three wants to travel from the moffusil bus stand to the railway station. It is more economical and convenient to travel by an auto than bus. That way, bus fare is higher in Kozhikode,” he points out. Mr. Rafi suggests that the department include passengers’ representatives too while revising fares. With the number of private vehicles, especially two-wheelers, going up steadily in the city, not many depend on autorickshaws nowadays, says K.P. Sudheer from Atholi. The threat of launch of more taxi aggregator platforms such as Ola and Uber might drain the already lean income, he fears.
Most auto drivers do not get the benefits that labourers in other sectors are entitled to. “Workers in sectors such as construction are enrolled under the welfare board. It is the contractor or owner of the real estate firm who pays the welfare premium. Our owners themselves often enrol as auto employees, and we do not get the benefits,” Mr. Kesavan says.
The harassment from the authorities are no less troublesome. “The city police are insisting on a certificate from the jurisdictional police station stating that we do not have a criminal record if we want to ride in the night. Let them take action against criminals, but suspecting the entire community is not fair,” says Mr. Rafi.
The government’s plan to introduce electric and CNG autorickshaws to rein in pollution may also hit them hard. T.V. Noushad, district committee member of an autorickshaw union affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, says drivers will not be able to bear the financial burden. “We should be given some government subsidy for our survival,” he adds. The authorities may have to step in to protect the few remaining fair minds.
