Date:22/05/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/05/22/stories/2007052218120300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

`Passengers being fleeced at pre-paid counters'

Special Correspondent

Bangalore: Are pre-paid autorickshaw counters, set up at places such as railway stations and bus stands to ensure that commuters are treated fairly, turning out to be places where commuters are swindled?

Autorickshaw Drivers' Union (ARDU) has alleged that railway police personnel, in connivance with a section of auto drivers, have been overcharging and cheating commuters. ARDU vice-president Rudramurthy showed The Hindu a pre-paid receipt issued at 9.31 p.m. on Sunday, in which a commuter from Yeshwantpur Railway Station to Yeshwantpur Circle was charged Rs. 42.

The union has alleged that this happens regularly at several pre-paid auto counters, including those near big malls. "People new to Bangalore are the prime targets," said Mr. Rudramurthy.

He said some auto drivers routinely form their own autorickshaw lines near the Bangalore City Railway Station and the Bangalore Airport and demand fares at will. The police are hand-in-glove with these drivers and look the other way even when this happens right in their presence, he alleged.

The union has demanded that higher officials conduct spot inspections at these places and protect the interests of commuters and honest auto drivers.