Hassle-free travel for passengers

Rajamahendravaram: Prepaid auto service booth set up by the Rajamahendravaram Urban Police in the premises of railway station keeping safety of the passengers in view, is providing respite for the passengers, who want to hire an auto to their destinations in the city. The passengers, specifically strangers to the city, need not nurse any fears hiring an auto even during late night hours as all the details including vehicle number, mobile number of the auto driver, apart from passenger details are recorded by the police.

Highlights:

• 86 autos are making an average of 160 trips
• Auto drivers lament loss of income
  

There are 86 autos at the stand located in the premises of the railway station and an average of 160 trips is being operated by the auto drivers every day. Passenger-friendly rates have been fixed for short as well as long distances and fares for three passengers vary from Rs 20 to Rs 196 in the day time and Rs 30 to Rs 324 during night hours.

The passengers need not bargain with the auto drivers and they can travel safely at affordable fares.For instance, the fare to nearby town of Kovvur in West Godavari (9 km) is Rs 108 in the day time and Rs 162 during the night time. For the airport which is 18 kilometers away is Rs 196 in the day and Rs 324 in the night time. For, Kadiyapu Lanka which is 14 kilometers away, it is Rs 168 in the day and Rs 216 during night hours.

The fare is Rs 158 and Rs.237 during day and night time respectively for those going to Diwan Cheruvu village which is 13 kilometers from the station. For the important junctions of Devi Chowk and Kotagummam, fares are Rs 48 and Rs 54 respectively. The minimum fare is Rs 20 for a distance of one kilometer.D Vara Lakshmi, a passenger who came to Rajamahendravaram along with her kids recalled that she had to pay a high fare during her last visit to the city and added that she is very satisfied with the prepaid system introduced here.

She mentioned that her relative’s house is not on the main roads and that she was happy to take up prepaid auto service. While the passengers are now satisfied with the prepaid services, auto drivers at the stand located in the railway station are not so happy. They are complaining that their income have decreased drastically after the introduction of the prepaid services.

Satyannarayana, an auto driver, said he used to get at least Rs 500 per day and now it was difficult to get even Rs 200. Even the number of trips has reduced to three to four trips a day, which includes trips to short distances, he said and added that fares fixed by the authorities are less than the fares that they get outside. Satyannarayana mentioned that rented auto drivers have stopped operating due to low income.

He however did observe that auto drivers who run share autos are getting more income than him.But, Rajamahendravaram urban SP, B Raja Kumari is optimistic about the prepaid auto service. Speaking to The Hans India, she said the service was introduced keeping in view the safety of passengers. Raja Kumari added that travelling in share autos is very difficult for passengers, particularly for women.

She observed that only some auto drivers used to get maximum trips in the past from the railway station, but, now everyone is getting equal share of trips due to the rotation system.Responding to auto drivers complaining about reduced income, Raja Kumari said that prepaid auto service has been introduced recently and more people will start using this service after coming to know about the actual fares. “Once, more people choose this service auto drivers will get more income,” she said and informed that urban police are making efforts to create more awareness among the people on this service.