Whenever one feels cheated or is refused a ride by a taxi or an auto driver, one wishes him to get his just deserts. In reality, the hapless commuter swallows his pride and moves on. But deliverance might be at hand. On Thursday, Anna Hazare's India Against Corruption (IAC) will launch a campaign whereby citizens can SMS complaints against errant taxi or auto drivers, which IAC would forward to the RTO and seek action.
"The objective is to act as facilitators for citizens who are aggrieved at drivers behaving rudely, tampering meters or driving without them, and refusing fare," said Mayank Gandhi of IAC's Mumbai chapter. "We will maintain a database of complaints, including the cellphone number of the passenger and the auto's number plate, in a server and forward the information to the RTO once in four days."
The RTO is not happy with the scheme and is reluctant to look into the complaints. A senior official said: "Through the SMS method, there will be no way to check the genuineness of a complaint. Besides, you cannot dump hundreds of complaints at the Andheri and Wadala RTOs, both of which are short-staffed.
"The RTO already has a helpline (1800-22-0110), which is an interactive voice response system. In this, a complaint in the complainant's voice is recorded. We listen to all the complaints and act on them on priority. Also, the RTO has not given approval to IAC for its proposed SMS system."
But Gandhi said IAC members had held talks with the state transport commissioner, V N More, and had sought meetings with the traffic police as well. "The authorities delayed our launch. We cannot wait any longer."
IAC member Praful Vora said: "We have found many instances of citizens not being able to get through to the RTO's helpline. It often comes engaged. Also, there is no proper mechanism for a commuter to know the status of a complaint filed through the helpline. In comparison, ours is a simple system (nicknamed 'whistle')."
A senior official from the transport department said: "We are always open to the use of technology for the benefit of citizens. But one cannot force upon us a system without analysing its pros and cons. There are certain drawbacks to the SMS-based system and it is not practically possible to take action based on it."
E-Meter Roadmap Transport commissioner V N More will appoint a technical committee, which may comprise those with technical knowledge of electronic meters , including manufacturers and others connected with the automobile industry. The panel will clear doubts raised by auto unions about electronic meters Once the unions are taken into confidence, feedback will be sought from manufacturers on e-meter cost, production capacity , installation time and calibration. After this, companies from which e-meters can be bought will be shortlisted Authorized meter repairers will be appointed across the suburbs for after-sale service
TIMES VIEW
The government, by permitting e-meter installation, aims to make meter-tampering by unscrupulous autorickshaw drivers difficult. But giving such drivers one year to make the switchover will embolden them and send out a message that the monitoring agencies want to delay the implementation of the project. This does not inspire confidence in commuters, who pay much more than they should because of tampered mechanical meters. Keeping this in view, a long timeframe for e-meter installation defeats the very purpose behind the move. Relief from being fleeced by autorickshaw and taxi drivers needs to be immediate and not in the long term.
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