The Founding of AutoRaja: A Game Changer

admin — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:11:44 +0000

Our About Us section presents the genesis of AutoRaja. It was in fact a little over two years back that one of the founding members of the organisation was engaged in profiling the lives and auto-rickshaw operations of drivers in Chennai. Soon, in late 2010, a larger study proving to be the first of its kind in India was conducted by Chennai City Connect.^{^[1]} The survey-based study presented interesting insights into the way things work in our city. What follow here in our Blog Section are snapshots into the 2010-11 studies, brief life-accounts of independent drivers, and views and experiences of auto-rickshaw commuters.

Auto-rickshaws were first introduced in Chennai as early as 1960. As the attached timeline suggests, things weren’t always easy or smooth for everybody involved in this unorganised sector – the drivers, the commuters, the manufacturers, the administrators and law-enforcers, and the society at large: fares had to be set first and then periodically revised, permits had to be issued to those who intended to buy autos, limits had to be imposed to the number of permits issued every year, a badge or the license to drive had to be obtained by anybody who wished to become a driver of a contract carriage- i.e. auto-rickshaw, committees had to be set up to monitor issue of permits and licenses and fare revision, the law-enforcing agents had to be trained to enforce the use of fare meters, and so much more! Further points presented themselves for the administrators to ponder over – who should become an auto driver, what should the minimum qualifications be, who should own an auto-rickshaw, how many autos can one individual own, how should the fares be fixed, do we have a national formula for meter fares, do we have a state-specific formula, should the government fix fares, how should the fares be revised with unit increase in petrol or gas prices, is LPG/CNG any better than petrol?! With over five decades of limited success^{^[2]}, the city has reached the stage of stalemate – commuters are unhappy, drivers are dissatisfied, government seems helpless, and the media can only report.

Can things change? For good at that? Yes. Auto Raja addresses these very pain points.

How? Keep reading this space to know more.

^{^[1]} http://chennaicityconnect.com/project-blogs/autorickshaw-study-report/

^{^[2]} Read a recent blog post at The Hindu http://bit.ly/UNg3Qc

The Commuter’s Plight

admin — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 20:32:32 +0000

Auto-rickshaw drivers are ubiquitous public servants! Yes, you read that right. With over 1 lakh^{^[1]} of them just in the Chennai Metropolitan Area and professing to take you to any nook and corner of the city and its outskirts, autos play a crucial role in transportation. It cannot be denied either that most of the city loves to dislike drivers; even those that are on a short visit to the city are warned of the all-true fleecing nature of drivers. The drivers’ often pronounced “kattupadi aagathu” (translation: the tariff you propose to pay is not economically viable), “return savaari kidaikathu” (translation: I will not get a customer back to my stand or area of operation), and refusals to take you to destinations of your choice constitute more fact than fiction. What’s worse? – those tamper-proof electronic meters that stare at you, almost mockingly, throughout your ruddy auto-rickshaw ride! The long minutes of bargaining, of putting up with the driver’s odd and at times rude behaviour, present all too frustrating a circumstance to care for auto-rickshaws or drivers anymore.

If only the fare meters worked…If only things were different…

On the other hand, all of us have heard of stories where auto drivers have played the role of the good samaritan – the case of the honest driver who took to the police station a bag full of jewellery you’d forgotten in the rickshaw, the case of the friendly driver who brought you safely back home from a late night theatre practice, and the all-favourite case of drivers operating free of cost hours before delivery – the prasavathukku ilavasam autos. That neighbourhood auto driver whom not just you and your family knows but the guests to your house also would know a little too well that the driver becomes a member of your extended family! And stories of how auto drivers work hard to get their children educated in english-medium schools, and how those kids grow up to bring laurels to the state and the country too! So many more heart-warming tales exist – those of hard-work, success, and most importantly acts of humanity by that section of the society which gets only bad attention, if any.

If only all of us cared enough to change things for good…

If only things were different…

Worry not, for they shall be. Beginning April 2013, things are going to be different. Watch this space for more details.

^{^[1]} The statistic is not official, thanks to legality and illegality of operations, and poor documentation.