The Hindu : No more permits for share autos

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 02, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Tamil Nadu-Chennai

No more permits for share autos

By P. Oppili

CHENNAI MAY 1. The State Transport department has decided not to issue any more permit for share autorickshaws in the city, throwing up complex issues in meeting the transport demand here.

A couple of years ago, the department on a trial basis issued permits for nearly 200 share autorickshaws in the city and 50 in each district. The permit holders were advised to operate five-seater vehicles as part of permit conditions. The operators, however, managed to get RTOs to register even autorickshaws with 10 or 12 seats and carried passengers beyond the capacity of the vehicles.

And share autorickshaws have come to occupy a niche in city transport, what with the government failure to pump more money into the MTC or opt for speedy regulated entry of the private sector to run bus services.

But the lack of regulation became apparent even when the share autorickshaw operators entered the fray. Commuters complain that many of the vehicles are rusty and rickety. Doors which do not close properly, and a flat rate of Rs.5 or 10, instead of Re. 1 a km as prescribed, are some of the problems. Senior Transport department officials say they received complaints from various quarters of violations by the share autorickshaws. The RTOs were advised to conduct regular checks on the violators, they said. But following a rise in the number of complaints, the department is seriously thinking of refusing to renew permits when they expire in 2005, says a senior officer.

For many lower middle class passengers, however, share autorickshaws are a welcome option. The MTC has been unable to increase its reach and frequency of services, especially to newly-developed suburbs, leading to the increased patronage of private transport, vans and share vehicles.

The MTC performance budget, tabled in the Assembly, says the Government last year purchased 117 buses, for replacement, indicating that a net addition remains elusive. Combined with the problems of bad road conditions caused by Metrowater and Chennai Corporation failures, thousands of residents especially in West Saidapet and Nanganallur have to go without bus service as the MTC actually withdrew its services to some areas, before partially restoring them.

At present, the MTC has a little over 2,700 buses, and it operated a distance of 2072.78 lakh km last year. But the other transport corporations in the State, with a much smaller fleet, are covering almost three-fourths of what the MTC covered. The MTC had during 2002-03 an 89 per cent fleet utilisation record, lower than that for all the other corporations.

While the MTC remains a less than transparent wing of the Government, without any public participation in its decision-making such as user-committees, and hence unable to cater for the growing demand, the private sector has stepped in with van services, operating as stage carriages, without any regulatory framework in place.

Transport department authorities say they are ``ready to come down heavily'' on violating share autorickshaws or maxi cabs, provided the MTC increases the services to suburban areas.

Ironically, while the Transport policy awaits a final shape, the city is experiencing rising congestion and deteriorating road safety, thanks to proliferation of cars and two-wheelers. The city traffic police have put vehicle population growth at 10 per cent per year, with nearly 18 lakh vehicles on the road at the end of 2002. A top police officer points out that buses are inadequate, while the MRTS does not reach any critical population in the city.

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