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FW: Blr Autos - Have you been taken for a ride lately?

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srinidhi - 1 July, 2010 | Traffic | Bangalore | Autorickshaw | Police | Complaint | Complaint | Enforcement

Forwarding will help for all of us ... FYI Bangaloreans.

You are in a hurry to catch the train. You pack all your stuff and frantically run out in the hope of catching an auto. You come out and see 5 autos standing at the corner. You thank God and ask them - "Majestic chaloge kya??” The Answer is "Rs 200 hoga!!”. "Kya?? It just cost Rs 100 till Majestic". "Bahut rush hai sir!!". You move on to the next auto, to try your luck and surprisingly, you have the same conversation "Bahut rush hai sir!!". Finally you give up and bargain the price to Rs 170 and hope you don't miss your train.

Sounds more than familiar??

You stand on the road and keep on asking the passing autos for a ride to your destination - if it's not your day, the autos will not even bother to stop; if you're a bit lucky they might actually slow down to hear your destination' s name and think for a second( i always wonder if they are calculating their net profit) and then speed away. However if you are more lucky, the auto guy might actually quote you an exorbitant price and then speed away. But if it's your extremely lucky hour of the day, you might end up getting an auto which is ready to take you to the destination at meter price.

In my six years of existence in Bengaluru, these experiences have been really instrumental in teaching me great virtues - Patience and Tolerance. But at what price??? exorbitant rates, extremely rude behavior and what not ......
After years of feeling used, i set out to find the answer for this misery - was there no government system that could bring these auto guys to justice? As a citizen, how can i express my concern?

This search took me to the Koramangala RTO office (BDA complex) and to my surprise i found that there did exist a government system which i believe 99.99% of Bengaluru is unaware of !!
The System
Note the vehicle number (KA-XX-YY-ZZZZ) and email the details to transcom@kar. nic.in. Based on the prefix XX (for example KA-01), complaint will be sent to one of the ten RTO offices in Bangalore and adjacent taluk areas.
Alternatively, one can also call these offices at the number given below based on the vehicle number prefix and directly lodge a complaint.

Vehicle Prefix (KA-XX) Bangalore location Phone number

  • KA-01 Koramangala 080-25533525
  • KA-02 Rajajinagar 080-23324104
  • KA-03 Indiranagar 080-25254310
  • KA-04 Yeshwantpur 080-23376039
  • KA-05 Jayanagar 080-26630989
  • KA-41 Gyanabharthi 080-28602833
  • KA-50 Yelahanka 080-28561366
  • KA-51 Electronic City 080-25735522
  • KA-52 NeelaMangala 08234-285598
  • KA-53 KR Puram 080-25617951

Once the complaint is received at the corresponding office, a notice is issued to the address of the vehicle’s registered owner, requiring him/her to turn up at the RTO office within 7 working days. Every RTO has about 10 IMV’s (Inspector of Motor Vehicles) who seize the vehicles which don’t report to the RTO.

The penalty levied from the auto-waalas is rs.100 under section 200.

The various offences among others for which one can lodge a complaint

  • Refusal to come to destination (Any destination! !!)
  • Demanding excess fare
  • Using rough language
  • Cheat the public, for e.g. taking longer routes.
  • Faulty Meter

There is also a helpline number - 080-22353785 available Monday – Saturday from 10:00 am - 5:30 pm on which one can call to lodge complaints.

The numbers speak for itself
I was shocked when I found that the Koramangala RTO office received only 5 complaints a month. With over 1,00,000 autos plying on Bangalore roads, shouldn’t it be like 5 complaints a minute?

What’s wrong with the system?

  • Lack of Awareness among the Bangalore citizens
  • The system is inefficient in data gathering- emails or phone calls cannot be stored and processed properly, leading to ineffective use of these complaint data.
  • Converting these complaints into notices issued to vehicle owners is still a manual process
  • Limited government officials to handle

So, will our impatience always have to take a backseat? Can something be done to improve/compliment the system to make it more effective? Will we get a better platform to raise our voices democratically?
 

COMMENTS

@idontspam I did not suggest

abidpqa - 6 July, 2010 - 17:43

@idontspam

I did not suggest that the free pricing in healthcare and education is right. Government interference is the only way to ensure fair accessibility  IMO. I just said auto drivers may be having some grievences about the unjust prices they have to pay.

Turnaround

idontspam - 6 July, 2010 - 17:48

  did not suggest that the free pricing in healthcare and education is right. Government interference is the only way to ensure fair accessibility  IMO

What a bummer! Complete turnaround I must say, and a useless conclusion at that, comrade.

 These things are happening

ss87 - 1 July, 2010 - 16:22

 These things are happening quite frequently-people actually do not know where to complain or are busy with other works. 

 

I have come across many such incidents in my life-once in the mid day I had to travel urgently from corporation to BTM Mico layout-though there were many autos everyone refused to come. Dejected I looked up  to spot  a volvo 365 coming towards me-waved my hand and the bus stopped next to me and I was corteously welcomed-and owing to lesser traffic I was taken to Mico layout in just 22 minutes from corporation via nimhans. 

 

Well I was quite lucky to wait for an auto near the stop that i could get a bus-how many can be so lucky-It is good to have these numbers-I will use them next time when I fail to get an auto-thanks for the same

 Can something be done to

idontspam - 1 July, 2010 - 18:18

 Can something be done to improve/compliment the system to make it more effective?

Yes and you just did it. Let people know such a thing exists.

You can bet it will be flooded if people knew about this. They may have to shut it down because ALL autos in Bangalore will be at the RTO doorstep

Basic issue: complainant is a trouble maker government attitude

mbnataraj - 2 July, 2010 - 22:38

The problem with Law enforcement as I see in Bangalore is lack of will and man power. Added to it is the stubborn refusal of the authorities to invite, encourage public participation in enforcement. They also exhibit a "complaint is a nuisance to smooth running of the concerned department and the complainant is a trouble maker".

I have made over 3000 traffic related complaints with date time and nature of violations to the dcp traffic, transport commissioner etc.

On various issues like underaged driving, road rule violations, cellphone use, musical horns, auto meter tampering, refusal to ply, overcharging, wheelies,parking violations etc.

There has been virtually no feed back on the action taken. and things continue the way they were. In a few cases, they -traffic police- got back to me with sob stories about how the higher ups threatened that if the SI could not solve my problem-meaning shut me up!- he could seek a transfer and go.

Naturally this creates a "What is the use of complaining" attitude in the complainants.

How do we handle this biased attitude of all the enforcement authorities?

I recall a cartoon where a complaint desk was staffed by a deaf mute staffer!

The most common issue: in the or else wonderful city

yougal - 3 July, 2010 - 05:34

I am completely agreed with all the statements made here.

I have just moved to B'lore few days back from A'bad, and shocked to see the behaviour of these auto walas, as they are only the transit medium other then private vehicle, which are responsible for last mile connectivity.


other then the points which you had already mentioned, (n all these are the serious threats ) my experience also make me to say that, these auto walas also have some kind of hatred towards North Indian people. I am totally not sure about this, but the way they refused to your proposal, is also very much strange, and it seems like you have a commit a biggest mistake by asking him to come your way.


Lastly thanks to you sir for providing these numbers.

I hope these numbers work and

dvsquare - 3 July, 2010 - 19:57

I hope these numbers work and if yes, lets spread this awareness thru all the social sites to all the bangaloreans. Its a need of the hour.

Generally, when I have to travel by auto, I follow this-

Depending on how much time I have, I mean if I am in urgency and have to catch anyhow, then I cannot do much. But in cases when I can compromise on time, I ask an auto to go xyz place, and if readies but asks for extra money or double, tripple amount, I just don't reply back, I start walking towards another auto, or if there is no other auto, I just ignore him. If he says something, I reply "meter?".

I keep doing so, till either I get an auto or I cannot compromise on the time anymore (its already too late waiting for normal fare auto). I might end up in paying the same amount even after waiting for 10 mins, but I feel happy because I said "NO" to those autos, tried to lower down the so-called "Demand", and that's the strategy I want everyone to follow.

We should understand that its us only who have made them go such customer-un-friendly, and now its only us who can again make them come back on track.

 

Also, on the same complaint point, I have another query, how to handle autowala menace when we try to note down their numbers and they try to bully you?

There is need to keep a

abidpqa - 4 July, 2010 - 03:05

There is need to keep a balance. If they accept the complaints against the autodrivers, they will need to act against the complaints of the autodrivers such as may be overpriced education, healthcare, unavailability water supply for 10 days etc. If the authoritis ignore complaints, these people keep quiet and all is well. Ignore more complaints and there is balance and peace and less work. If the education and healthcare are market-driven why not auto charges? Then I suppose the ethics comes in. They cannot demand more in an emergency. Well then why is that not applicable to healthcare. When you are sick you are helpless, can the medical care providers exploit that?

If the education and

idontspam - 4 July, 2010 - 05:21

If the education and healthcare are market-driven why not auto charges? 

I agree. The govt should get out of price fixation regimes. Remove all pretences of having a meter etc. This will hasten the exit of autos from the transport scene or they will be forced to consolidate and operate like taxis to survive. Good suggestion you should really take this up with the authorities. 

regulation, not interference

murali772 - 11 July, 2010 - 09:21

Government interference is the only way to ensure fair accessibility IMO.

Perhaps you mean 'regulation'. Yes, that's required, but certainly not total control or interference. Check this

 

Kannada number plates issue

murali772 - 11 July, 2010 - 09:37

To report an offence, one needs to be in a position to read the number plates. But, more and more vehicles (including those belonging to the Police Dept) are today seen with just Kannada number plates (in blatant violation of the M V Act), and even half the city's traffic police cannot read Kannada numerals. What do you do for that? May be this.

not shocking at all

murali772 - 11 July, 2010 - 09:49

I was shocked when I found that the Koramangala RTO office received only 5 complaints a month

That's a very clear indication that the system does not work, quite like with most government systems. The following excerpts from this example says it all.

"If people do not turn up in sufficient numbers at such meetings, it is not because they are satisfied with the services, it is plainly because of the futility of complaining to a government agency. Those who can afford have made alternate arrangements, and those that can't are any way voiceless."

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