Auto drivers and public users are not on opposite sides of the fenceutos are the primary para-transit mode in Bangalore, an important and integral part of its public transportation sys-tems. They play a significant supplementary and comple-mentary role, plugging the gap between other public and pri-vate transport modes. Given their convenience much like personalised transport, autos are practically the ‘last line of defence’ before losing out to private modes. Autos are more cost-efficient, space-efficient and environment-friendly compared to the sheer volume of private vehicles. For the same capital cost, they carry more passengers, don’t hog as

much precious road / parking space, contribute lesser to traf-fic congestion and pollution.

Moreover, they provide em-ployment to individuals/en-trepreneurs from lower in-come groups, at a relatively low investment cost. Being totally in the private sector (a ‘for profit’ trade), autos pro-vide a valuable public trans-port service, sans government funding and little if any sub-sidy. However, despite their significant merits and role, autos receive little attention in the urban transport debate.

Rather, because of their seeming demerits —which are at times the result of skewed

perceptions or symptoms of larger systemic issues —there is a negative image and dispar-aging attitude towards them in general; with laws/regulations tending to focus more on lim-iting or discouraging them. There is practically no plan-ning for them and little is done to integrate them into the overall picture.

It is important to recognise that though there are short-comings, autos in themselves are not bad. What is required is enabling policy and plan-ning that capitalizes on their positives and minimizes their negatives.

For starters, it is necessary

to acknowledge their merits and role in catering to the mo-bility needs of scores of people in the city and their potential in increasing the share of pub-lic passenger transportation as a whole. It is of utmost impor-tance to improve autorick-shaw services and integrate them with other public trans-port systems (in ways that are supplementing/complement-ing and not competing), in order to check the rapid and disturbing shift to private ve-hicles. This would in turn help reduce traffic congestion/cha-os, air and noise pollution, ac-cidents, stress etc on city roads.

In this context, the growing anger and frustration among public users regarding auto services is matter of grave con-cern. One realises though that the public’s experience and perception is just one side of the story. There are multiple players/stakeholders in the system, multiple dimensions and perspectives that need to be understood and addressed in order to bring about more holistic improvements and make it work for all concerned.

It is crucial for the public to also be aware of issues plagu-ing the autorickshaw sector and bring them into focus while demanding for im-

provement in services, apart from complaints and demand-ing for stricter monitoring/enforcement measures and penalisation, which are of course required as well. For instance, it is important to re-alise that the auto driving community also faces corrup-tion and exploitation from dif-ferent quarters, the financial pressures of which often trick-le down to the users, as auto drivers have no other means to make ends meet. This is not to make excuses or favour any one faction or the other, but to emphasise the need to dig deeper and look beyond only one side of the story or per-

spective.It appears that auto drivers

and public users are not on op-posite sides of the fence as is commonly felt, but in fact need to come together to de-mand for improved govern-ance, service and quality of life for both. If all stakeholders are better informed, they would be better equipped and more effective in addressing root problems, apart from just try-ing to tackle the symptoms.

The author is an urban plan-ner-designer at CiTSUP, IISc

with a keen interest in trans-port, environment and urban

planning/design issues

A

Radha Chanchani

Autorickshaws need to be an

organised sector if the current

problems need to be addressed.

But with no policy initiatives from

the government, Merlin Francis

wonders, who will do it

hey are one of the most despised sec-tions of society. And not without rea-son. They fleece passengers, are bra-zenly rude, and are seemingly a group impossible to rein in.

They are namma auto drivers, of course.

Innumerable attempts have been made in the past to bring auto drivers on track. Needless to say, these have come a cropper. From soft skill lessons for auto drivers, to strict enforcement and pre-paid autos, both traffic police and well-meaning sections from civil society have made efforts to improve services. But for commuters in the city, autorickshaw drivers continue to be a necessary evil.

They are necessary, of course, since autorickshaws provide that crucial last mile connectivity in public trans-port. Without then, the city would have more private vehicles on roads just because last mile connectivity would be a gap that no other services, except non-motorised transport can currently fill.

One of the elementary reasons why these efforts have failed, according to those who have worked with au-torickshaw drivers, is the lack of or-ganisation.

“We have been organising soft skills training for auto drivers for a year now. In the last year, we were able to reach 850 of them,” says MA Saleen, additional commissioner (traffic). The biggest challenge he has faced during these sessions is the lack of organisa-tion. “Without an organisation to ap-proach, only those who were genu-

inely interested came forward. Reach-ing out to the rest has been a prob-lem,” he admits.

The numbers speak for themselves. Of about 1 lakh autorickshaw drivers in the city, 850 drivers have had soft skills training. That’s 0.86% of the tar-get population. Saleem, however, claims that this, along with other ef-forts such as pre-fixed auto stands, etc, have made a difference in the number of complaints by commuters: it has reduced.

Padmasree Harish who, about a decade ago began Easy Autos, does not seem to have to the energy now to even talk about her experience. When asked what had gone wrong, she said, “The organisation’s focus was on ad-

dressing commuter problems and not autorickshaw drivers. As long as I was paying them out of my own pockets, it was fine. But when I couldn’t handle that anymore, we stopped it,” she re-marked.

Getting autorickshaw drivers or-ganised is one solution offered by many experts, but Harish recalls that despite knocking on many official doors, there was nothing that the gov-ernment wanted to do for them. Obvi-ous reason why things had gone grossly wrong for her.

A study by Akshay Mani,Madhav Pai and Rishi Agarwal of Embarq, a sustainable transport non-profit, looked at the role of the autorickshaw sector in sustainable urban transport.

It suggested that this sector needs a policy vision in order to meet the ob-jectives of the National Urban Trans-port Policy. It needs to be organised.

According to the study, auto rick-shaws should act as last mile connec-tivity, along with non-motorised transport, such as bicycles and walk-ing.

“Autorickshaw services, integrated as feeder modes providing first and last mile connectivity for public trans-port services, help ensure that public transport is accessible to all parts of the city. In this role, autorickshaws will also ensure accessibility to public transport for commuters with special needs, such as the elderly and people with disabilities,” says the report. However, currently, because of the lack of adequate public transport, au-torickshaws act as IPTs (intermediate public transport) substituting buses for long distance commute.

And so, one suggestion made by autorickshaw drivers was that in or-der to help them, number of buses on road should be reduced. Instead of complementing services, autorick-shaws see buses and the Metro as competition.

In order to iron out these issues, the report had suggested that apart from improving public transport services, autorickshaws also need to provide dial-a-rickshaw services. But, dial-a-rickshaw services work best when autos operate as a fleet, and not indi-vidual operators, as it works today. “The lack of organisation poses a bar-rier for the provision of dial-up ser-

vices. Regulatory reforms that allow fleet-based operations with dispatch services to enter the auto-rickshaw sector could help address this issue,” the report said.

While there are private efforts to organise autorickshaws in this man-ner, such as Namma Auto by Three Wheels Auto Private Limited which is slowly increasing its fleet of autos, of-ficials in the transport department do not believe such organisation is pos-sible.

“The sheer number of autos and the fact that the unions, who have a very different ideology, are a prob-lem when it comes to organising auto drivers. Private efforts also may not work,” says a senior official in the transport department. He, how-ever, believes that training pro-grammes in both soft skills as well as driver refresher programmes can help. “We have many refresher pro-grammes for BMTC and KSRTC dr-viers. With the driving training insti-tute in Bangalore and Dharwad, and more in the pipeline, it is possible that we will be able to improve ser-vices,” he argues.

While the government, not-for-profit organisations and thinktanks keep brainstorming the issue, both commuters and autorickshaw drivers can only wait.

merlin.francis@dnaindia.net

AUTOincorrect

T

Q&A Auto Shivkumar, radio jockey for a couple of hours in a week, auto driver for the most part of his life and do-gooder by heart, believes it is possible to save the auto driver from the wrath of commuters, with a few changes.

There are many complaints when it comes to autorickshaw drivers. So, what’s the problem?The problem with autorickshaw drivers today is that no one seems to realise that things are different from what it was 20 years ago. Not just the price rise but also in terms of competition. Apart from buses, there is also competition from the additional autorickshaws permitted by the transport department. Moreover, although they provide an impor-tant service to commuters, noth-ing is being done for them. The recent strike was a success be-cause the concerns are very real for autorickshaw drivers.

Do you have a solution?Autorickshaw drivers need to be organised. The government has to take steps for this. This organ-isation should be done along the lines of the BMTC. Why can’t a

system be worked out where drivers are hired by the govern-ment, paid salaries and the ticket revenue goes to the government. The system has to be computer-ised so that there is transparency.

But, how will this ensure that drivers behave well?Organising drivers into fleets and giving them some training in soft skills and language will go a long way in helping autorickshaw drivers. There also has to be a solution to the traffic problem. Both passengers and authorities need to realise that the distance that used to take 30 minutes, 20 years ago now takes an hour to an hour and half. Apart from rev-enues coming down, autorick-shaw drivers also go through immense stress. When auto rick-shaw drivers cannot make enough money to pay even their debts, some turn to crime.

What do you want for autorickshaw drivers?During my programmes on Ra-dio Active I try to help auto driv-ers. I tell them that they should be dressed crisply, like a military man. Their behaviour should be considerate. I think this is possi-ble, with some training and a lit-tle effort.

Do you believe that the government has done nothing for autorickshaw drivers?That’s true. For instance, even when autorickshaw drivers are awarded for their honesty, this is an award — often a piece of paper or a trophy. An autorickshaw driver cannot feed his children or put them through school with this? Why can’t the government offer better subsidies? This will encourage auto drivers to behave better.

As told to Merlin Francis