By Tanushree Krishna:
Customer: Bhaiya, Brigade Road chalenge kya? (Hello, will you take us to Brigade Road?)
Autowala: Nahi. (No.)
Customer: Toh bhaiya, kahan jaoge? Wahin ghar lene ki sochte hain! 🙂 (Ok, then where can you take us? We may just buy a house there only!)
After the national capital, the IT capital of India, Bangalore, has become one of the worst places to travel by auto rickshaws. The cases of the overcharging of meters and the problems caused by the errant Auto drivers in Bangalore is increasing day by day. Chances are, you stand on the road waiting for an auto and most of them won’t even bother to stop. If you are lucky, a few will stop by, but will demand almost double the fare. And only if you are extremely lucky you might get an auto which is ready to take you to your desired destination at meter price. Moreover, one can hardly find autos which don’t demand inflated fares during nights or on rainy days and people are forced to heed to their demands as they are helpless at that moment. Things can get really annoying when you are in a hurry. Most of the times, people are abused or harassed by the auto drivers. Those of my friends, who fought back against the wrong happening, were showered with death threats!
But the government has come up with a system to tackle this problem and enforce discipline among the auto drivers, about which most of the people in Bangalore seem to be unaware.
There is a helpline number 080-22353785 available Mondays- Saturdays from 10:00 am to 05:30pm on which one can lodge complaints. You can also call these offices on the number given below based on the vehicle number prefix and directly lodge a complaint. (Only major areas mentioned)
Vehicle Prefix (KA-XX)/ Bangalore location/ Phone number
KA-01 Koramangala 080-25533525
KA-02 Rajajinagar 080-23324104
KA-03 Indiranagar 080-25254310
KA-04Yeshwantpur 080-23376039
KA-05Jayanagar 080-26630989
KA-41Gyanabharti 080-28602833
KA-50Yelahanka 080-28561366
KA-51Electronic city 080-2573552
KA-53K R Puram 080-25617951
Alternatively, you can note the vehicle number (KA-XX-YY-ZZZZ) and mail it along with the complaint at transcom@kar.nic.in . Based on the prefix for e.g. KA-XX (KA-03) the complaint will be forwarded to the respective RTO offices. Once the complaint is received at the RTO office, a message is sent to the vehicle owner to report at the office within 7 working days.
The various offences for which one can lodge complaints are,
- Using rough language
- Refusing to come to destination
- Demanding excess fare
- Cheating public by taking longer routes
- Faulty meter
- Rude and indecent behavior
The above details are also available at all the RTO offices, and it is advisable to visit the nearest RTO during matters of grave concern. This system framed by the government can function efficiently only if there is public awareness and participation.
So, spread the word!