Transport department to monitor fares charged by autos in Mumbai

Share autos outside Bandra (East) railway station

Any person who commutes from Bandra (East) railway station regularly is aware of the ever-changing fares that the share autos charge. The menace has gone so out of hand the Transport Commissioner has ordered a crackdown on share rickshaws and pledged to monitor fares charged by them.

"Whenever we hire an auto, the fares seem to differ. It's embarrassing for us because we are the ones who frame rules and they overcharge or refuse us at will," said a Transport Commissioner Office (TCO) staffer.

According to the TCO staff, the drivers charge R10 before 9 am and R20 after, for the same distance and route.

Speaking to mid-day, Transport Commissioner Praveen Gedam said, "I have ordered a crackdown on these share rickshaws. We will also start monitoring the fares they charge."

Mumbai Auto Rickshaw and Taximen's Union president Shashank Rao informed, "There are several illegal rickshaws plying at Bandra (E) over which the RTOs have no control. Share auto drivers are supposed to get 33 per cent over the total fare, but they flex it according to their wish."