Mumbai: 8,000 rogue auto drivers pulled up in five-month drive

In a massive crackdown against illegal autorickshaw drivers plying across the city a sustained Regional Transport Office RTO drive caught more than 8000 errant autorickshaw drivers from February 26 to July 31 The RTO began action after midday published a series of stories on the unruly autorickshaw drivers across the city flouting traffic rules left right and centreRTO commissioner Shekhar Channe told midday that action against defiant autorickshaw drivers will continue until they all fall in line We have issued memos to 8050 drivers from February to July Of these 6434 drivers were plying on city roads without a valid driving licence or a badge We have issued notices to the owners of 3650 such vehicles and the process is ongoing Channe told middayRTO officials have also suspended the permit of 899 out of 3650 autorickshaw drivers A senior RTO official told midday that most of the defiant drivers are youngstersWhile the RTO has also seized many autorickshaws the lack of space has led them to confiscated the meters of others mdash 695 of them so farWhile many autos were seized for breaking rules lack of space has led officials to confiscate meters of othersNo takers for short ridesRTO officials have formed teams of 25 clerical staff members and 10 officers as flying squads Clerical staff members posing as customers were sent out on the roads to nail errant drivers by seeking rides for a minimum fare of around R3040 A total of 955 drivers refused to ply commuters for short distances It was shocking to learn that most of them were youngsters and refused rides from right under the RTO headquarters in Bandra said a traffic officer adding Our intention is not to vehemently take repressive action but to take stringent action against errant driversIn a bid to effectively camouflage their identity the team members would keep changing their locations We realised that drivers mostly denied to ply commuters at RTO headquarters Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Bandra Terminus Andheri and Borivli station areas said an officerDiverse rejection reasonsThe most common reason behind drivers denying rides was citing natures call mealtime or fuel refill A few of them cited odd reasons saying they had to go to a hospital for a medical emergency or attend a birthday celebration One of them even submitted his grandsons birth certificate to prove his reason But we had to book him as he had violated RTO rule the officer addedShekhar ChanneDuring our crackdown around LTT premises we caught one autorickshaw driver who was soliciting passengers but when we caught him he flashed his platform ticket saying he had come to drop his family members and was planning to ply commuters while returning the officer said adding that barely five per cent of the errant drivers caught were above the age of 60 years Around 30 per cent of them were between 5060 year old and the rest were youngstersRTO rulesExplaining the RTO rules an officer said If the meter is flagged down it indicates that the autorickshaw is hired Commuters need to understand that if the meter is not turned upwards the autorickshaw is not meant to be hired And if the meter is halfdown it indicates that the autorickshaw is not available to be hired for the drivers personal reasons Here he is not breaking the law and attending to his personal workNew sealing solutionAfter issuing memos it generally takes around 15 months to complete the process of seizing a vehicle During the crackdown the RTO officials have seized 158 vehicles but due to the acute space crunch the meters of these vehicles were plucked out But we were astonished to see that a few autorickshaws were on the roads without a meter We request commuters not to hire such autorickshaws as they violate RTO rules and can compromise on the passengers safety too the officer saidRTO officials are now considering sealing fuel tanks of errant autorickshaws After plucking out the meter we are coming up with a solution to seal the fuel tank so that they cannot refill their fuel If they are found tampered we will take strict action against violators the officer concluded3650No of autorickshaw owners who have been sent notices6434No of drivers caught without a driving licence or badgeWhat can commuters doCommuters who are at the receiving end of such difficult behaviour by errant autorickshaw drivers can complain to the Mumbai traffic police on Twitter or Whatsapp helpline number 8454999999 However in most cases drivers refuse to confess to refusing rides or overcharging once caught and commuters without any evidence are left helpless To avoid this commuters can video record such incidents to ensure foolproof evidence against errant driversMeter rulesMeter down Autorickshaw is hiredMeter up Autorickshaw available for hiringMeter halfdown Autorickshaw unavailable for hiringCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates