Bangalored....3 - The Auto-Rickshaw...

Auto Rickshaws in Bangalore can very well be a subject of someone’s PhD thesis.
There are two kinds of rickshaw drivers here. First one is “needy” driver and the other is “Rich” driver.
You can easily differentiate between these two. The ones that you generally see in a small group round the corner and chatting, they are the Rich Drivers. They do not need customers. They operate on the assumption that a needy person will pay whatever amount they ask for And are silently waiting for such a prey. The fare they ask for is generally more than double. It is strongly recommended that you avoid these drivers. They are generally a drain on your pocket.

Some creatures in this category roam around city too. They generally go around city roaming just like you would go if you have your own car. Now if by any chance you happen to stop them, which is a bit difficult task since they go as if they are not in the business. It is not guaranteed that he will agree to go to the place where you want to go. There are a few criterions to be met.

First is that your destination should match with his plan of roaming.
Second, the destination should not be too near or too far. Again these definitions of “near” and “far” are at the discretion of the driver.
They will never agree to take you to a place where there is a prepaid auto stand. They generally fiercely protect their right to charge excess fare by not going to places where the “cruel” traffic police will curb their freedom to charge fare at will ;-)
Finally if above two criterions are satisfied, and then comes the third and killer criterion… Fare!!!

The second and “Useful” category is the needy Rickshaw Drivers. These are those harmless creatures who actually believe that they need customers to make their living.

They can be easily identified by two criterions, when they are waiting somewhere, they will be scanning the surrounding area for probable customers. Generally they will not be waiting round the corner but around a bus stand. When they go along the road, they generally go by the side of the footpath slowly scanning the footpath for any probable customer. All you need to do is look at him and he will stop.

There are some people in this group too who are selective about destinations. But he will not overcharge you or he is not afraid of the Prepaid Auto counter. No doubt these people form the majority of the chunk that makes the prepaid auto concept a success.

They generally think in your interest. Suggesting shortcuts… or giving information about area and all. You can very well expect the meter not to be tampered. They will also return the change.

the police generally tries it’s best to straighten these rich drivers by various means… by opening help lines numbers… by carrying out surprise raids and surprise checking of meters and other means like making it mandatory to display license information and all.

But till now all these rich rickshaw drivers like all other rich people have managed to pull the political strings and stop such attempts by the police.

All these actions have opened up a new way for us. Now I check around if any traffic police is around. If yes then I go and stand nearby for stopping an auto