Fleecing by auto drivers continues in Kollam

Despite a crackdown, fare meters are seldom used

Despite repeated efforts from the authorities and the district administration launching Safe Kollam, an ambitious campaign to ensure road safety among others, majority of autorickshaws in Kollam city continue to ply without using fare meters.

The district administration and Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) had been trying to make fare meters mandatory for nearly two years, but the drivers simply refuse to budge.

After receiving several complaints about the exorbitant rates and rude behaviour of drivers, MVD and Traffic Police had launched an intensive crackdown on autorickshaws operating without meters in July, but now the situation has become more difficult, say passengers.

“The officials launch such campaigns for a couple of days or a week and after that everything will be back to same. Currently 95% of the drivers keep the meters idle and even if they turn it on, they will charge at least ₹10 extra. This fleecing has been going on for a long time,” said a passenger.

Also, many autorickshaws in the city are charging more than the minimum fare for short distances, making it more difficult for commuters.

“We have been trying to fix this for a while. From what we understand, they turn on the meters during inspections but avoid them later. Currently we have around 5,000 autorickshaws plying in the city and we need continuous monitoring to address this issue,” said an official.

Prior to the crackdown in July the department had conducted several awareness sessions to encourage the drivers to use fare meters.

In July, within a couple of days over 50 cases were registered against drivers by special squads conducting inspections. When MVD started imposing a fine on drivers flaunting the rules, there was a visible difference in the situation for a week. While the department maintains that the autorickshaws in the city still use meters, passengers tell a different story. “The situation has gone from bad to worse. They know how to handle it since the inspections last only for a while. I think all the drivers in the city hiked their rates since the crackdown. They are now demanding ₹40 and ₹50 for minimum distance trips,” said a passenger.