RTOs in the city have come down heavily on autorickshaw drivers for refusal of fares.
RTOs in the city have come down heavily on autorickshaw drivers for refusal of fares. In a drive conducted on February 9 and 10, around 70 of 300 drivers were caught refusing the fare and behaving rudely/abusively with the passengers and as result were banned from plying their autorickshaws in the city.
Commuters have been complaining about the autorickshaw drivers who have not only refused to carry them but have been rude or abusive towards them. “We conducted the drive in areas where we know the autorickshawsdrivers to be rude to passengers. We are planning continuous drives that which might make them a little more afraid to refuse fare,” said and RTO official on the condition of anonymity.
The RTO took on drivers in Western and Central Suburbs like Bandra, Andheri, Borvili, Kurla, Ghatkopar, Vidyavihar and Vadala.
The drive comes in a few days before the autorickshaw strike called by union leader Shashank Rao on Monday. Mr Rao has said the latest move is just an “eyewash” and that the real issues have not been talked about. “The issue is that the transport minister is not taking any action on those who are actually doing the real crime, that is, the private taxis like Ola and Uber. I am not saying that refusal is not an issue but there are more burning issues like the bread and better of nearly 83,000 autorickshaw drivers because of these private taxis,” said Mr. Rao.
About the strike coinciding with the Make in India programme, he said, “We are all ready for the strike, we won’t go back on our word. Forget about creating new jobs this government is not letting those who have a job to keep it”.
