The Tirupati Urban Police on Tuesday issued identity cards to auto-rickshaw drivers and owners in the temple city, as part of the ongoing ‘Safe City – Tirupati’ campaign.
Laminated cards have also been issued with the identity cards, highlighting all the necessary information for the benefit of passengers. These cards, to be fixed on the back of the driver’s seat, display basic information about the drivers including his/her photograph details of driving licence, vehicle registration, a unique traffic police number and the stand to which auto-rickshaw belongs, along with the important phone numbers of police officials.
Distributing the identity cards at Nehru Municipal Grounds here on Tuesday, Tirupati Urban Superintendent of Police Gopinath Jatti said that the move would help them keep a comprehensive database of all auto-rickshaw drivers in the city and address various security concerns of passengers.
“Of late, security of people, especially women, in metropolitan cities has become a big concern in the wake of several untoward incidents. The identity cards will address to such issues to some extent by helping the passengers in knowing the drivers’ details and lodge complaints in case of problems,” he said.
Deputy Superintendent of Police (Traffic) J. Venkata Narayana said that besides security issues, other aspects such as misplaced luggage, behavioural issues (mischief) can be dealt with utilising the database.
He called upon auto-rickshaw drivers to adhere to traffic rules and put in their best efforts to ensure quality service to people. The officials also said that they were contemplating the inclusion of GPS tracking system to note down the vehicular movement of public transport.
