The Rise of Auto Terror

How to Stop the Auto Terror

 

Sometime back i was riding in a Auto, and this Idea stuck out of nowhere.
But i was thinking about the inspiration of this idea since long time, probably
since the time i faced the Auto Terror. Auto Terror, if you are not aware, is a
growing group of Auto Rickshaws creating Havoc in Bangalore City. They
have the made the life of commuters a hell, in case they need to go anywhere.
There is this feeling that a Bangalore Auto will never go to a place where
the passenger wants to. Its like some Murphy's law, only in this case the
Murphy in question stays in some place in Bangalore which is hit by the
Auto Terror. Let me clear out the symptoms of Auto Terror if you are not sure
whether you have encountered it or not. They are the following :-
1. Refusal to go to the place where you want to go
2. Asking for double, or excessively huge amount of money. i.e Not abiding the Meter
3. When returning the change if you pay the amount, the Auto Man returns you less

(DONT ASK ME THE REASON)
4. Abusing the passenger
5. Taking wrong routes or routes which are longer so that meter remains happy

 

And the last. This one is my favourite,
6. Taking extra passenger on the way to your place as if the Auto in Bangalore are on shuttle,
     but still taking the full amount from you for the journey.

 

If you have encountered any of the above symptoms, you can be rest assured that you
belong to huge community of people infected by the Auto Terror Virus.

 

Ok. We all know the problems. Can anything be done to help things improve for better.
And make the Bangalore city get rid of this Auto Terror. Now i come back to my
AHA moment that i wanted to share. Simple stuff, no length explainations.

 

1. Before giving the Auto License to the Driver, just pass them through a Orientation
program where they learn :-

 

1. The Best Practices of driving in Bangalore
2. Basic Knowledge in English and Hindi, as Kannada is the language of the state'
3. Basic mannerisms

 

Again, put up a poster in each and every Auto, asking Passengers to give Rs. 5 /-
extra to the Auto Driver, in case the the ride through Auto made them feel happy
about their journey. Also, put up a Comments ScrapBook for the Auto Drivers
to share what others have said about their ride in that Auto. This sets up 
a better communication between the passengers and the Auto Driver.

 

I believe the basic Human Need for Respect, Dignity and Love are enough to understand
and eliminate the Auto Terror from Bangalore. I feel Auto Drivers must be made to feel
that they are an important part of the Bangalore. They represent Bangalore, and are
responsible to make Bangalore a beautiful place for anybody and everybody.

 

I still know we can do lots to improve the situation. And if you have one, add it on.
May be we can come down to a common set of points which we can share with
the concerned authorities through media or directly.

 

Till then keep Smiling !!!