When will autos/taxis use meters and behave properly in our cities/towns?

Perhaps never.

Came across this post by a lady living in Bangalore (HT: Nitin Pai). Yet another case of a commuter being harassed by auto-rickshaw driver in Bangalore. It is amazing to read such cases over and over again across cities in India. I mean it is not even shocking anymore. And to see it happen in cities like Bangalore is such a joke on India urbanising, growing and shining. One can just imagine the plight in smaller cities (perhaps they may be better given lack of demand).

Why can’t the auto/taxi drivers use meters to drop/pick commuters in cities? Why should a person haggle over the fares each and every day? Why should anyone overpay crazily to reach from one place to the other? Is it so difficult to ask these people to follow basic rules and procedures?

One has been reading huge agenda of proposed reforms for the next government but not one which asks to fix these issues in daily living. We have problems in all walks of civic life but they don’t seem to interest anyone. We all just want a list of big bang reforms which makes stock markets rise. That is just about it.

The other day a helper at one of the nearby shops fell inside the open manhole in the might? Why? Because it was raining, so manhole was open. As it was raining there was no light on the road either. So was natural to fall inside the manhole and get injured. Really? Nearly everyday papers in Bangalore report of certain person dying either trying  to avoid some black hole on the road or falling in it. And if he/she is lucky, the government will announce some money as condolences. But nothing happens after that. Life goes on. Someone else falls/dies and again the same cycle repeats.  The problem of digging during monsoons just does not go away.

I mean we have come to a level where nothing gets addressed till it does not lead to drop in financial markets in Mumbai. And somehow markets can react to the calamity across globe but not calamities across the country.

As reform word is what excites the public these days,this auto/taxi driver thing should become one of the top reforms. It is a huge irritant by all means.

There are whole sets of things like quality of roads which one has nearly given up on. People have got used to finding a way and paying through the services from their pockets. But to get harassed each day and not reach place of work etc. is like making sure people are even unable to pay for the other services. Moreover, it might give the media/experts more masala on the tough government kind of news. 

I mean what does one say..

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