One of the most harrowing experiences that a visitor to Chennai must face is the encounter with the auto rickshaw or more precisely the driver of that three-wheeled taxi. Come to think of it, I think even residents of the city dread this. The normal protocol for hiring a cab in most places is to hail the cab, get into the vehicle and then tell the driver where to go. But this is not the procedure in Chennai.
You will hail the auto-rickshaw. If the driver decides to stop, he will stick his head out and want to know where you want to go. He may sometimes merely raise a quizzical eyebrow instead of asking. If your destination is not among the places in his approved list, then he will quickly pull his head in much like a tortoise that senses danger and then speed away quite unlike the tortoise (more like the hare), but not before registering his irritation for having wasted his time over you by uttering 'tcha'. You will have seen both the tortoise and the hare imitated in the space of a few seconds by a sourpuss.
Even if he is willing to take you, it is foolhardy to board the vehicle before a verbal contract is concluded with the driver on the fare. You will have to ask what the fare will be. You may get a simple answer or face a few questions about your destination perhaps to determine how familiar you are with the city. The important thing to remember is not to get into the rickshaw until a fare is agreed upon. The driver may urge you to get in and keep pretending that the fare is no issue. This may go on for a while. He may even say, 'Pay what is fair'. I am not sure how you will know what the fair amount should be. In any case, after all these preliminaries, the fare demanded will be astronomical. You will have to negotiate it down to earth. The whole process generally leaves you with a bad taste in the mouth.
The alternate way to engage an auto is to go to the neighbourhood auto stand. This may seem like a better bet since the auto is already parked and clearly waiting for a customer. You will actually be received warmly there. But the problem here is that the driver of the auto at the head of the queue is often away having tea or lunch or something. You have to wait for him. The other drivers will cluster around you asking where you are bound and all that and someone will eventually get the missing driver. Then the negotiations take a different tack since you are now effectively dealing with the whole group. They will even argue among themselves about the fairness of the fare demanded. You usually end up feeling finessed by a sort of good cop, bad cop routine.
About the worst place to hire an auto in the city is at the Central Station. I used to dread getting off the train in Chennai. The way you can tell natives of the city from visitors as they get off the train is to see who looks tense or apprehensive. The visitor has no idea of the auto standoff and so will be relaxed while the residents will be girding up for the inevitable duel with the driver with tension written all over their faces. Even as people get off the train, while possibly trying to keep up with the quick-footed porter who is carrying their luggage, drivers start accosting them. The hapless passengers are at the mercy of the drivers. The chaos outside the station is unbelievable. I am told that there is a prepaid scheme in place now and so the situation may have improved.
What is the worst that the auto driver can demand? To be paid by the meter! Seriously, if he offers to ferry you to your destination and get paid per the meter, I am told that you should just run in the other direction. Apparently, the meter is always tampered with and will end up costing you enormously. It might as well display 'ha, ha' or 'gotcha'!
The only way to avoid the problem is to use taxis instead. Taxis are not available for hailing on the street, but must be called for. This may not be possible at all times, but they certainly offer a hassle-free transport when available. And, by all accounts, their business is booming. Ironic, considering that taxis were more or less put out of business by the growth of autos in the first place.
Update: I have been informed that there is a new initiative by 'Namma Auto' which will ply autos with digital meters and strict adherence to it (what a concept) among other improvements in service. It sounds really good and hard negotiations may become history if this succeeds and forces all auto owners to adopt the model.
About the worst place to hire an auto in the city is at the Central Station. I used to dread getting off the train in Chennai. The way you can tell natives of the city from visitors as they get off the train is to see who looks tense or apprehensive. The visitor has no idea of the auto standoff and so will be relaxed while the residents will be girding up for the inevitable duel with the driver with tension written all over their faces. Even as people get off the train, while possibly trying to keep up with the quick-footed porter who is carrying their luggage, drivers start accosting them. The hapless passengers are at the mercy of the drivers. The chaos outside the station is unbelievable. I am told that there is a prepaid scheme in place now and so the situation may have improved.
What is the worst that the auto driver can demand? To be paid by the meter! Seriously, if he offers to ferry you to your destination and get paid per the meter, I am told that you should just run in the other direction. Apparently, the meter is always tampered with and will end up costing you enormously. It might as well display 'ha, ha' or 'gotcha'!
The only way to avoid the problem is to use taxis instead. Taxis are not available for hailing on the street, but must be called for. This may not be possible at all times, but they certainly offer a hassle-free transport when available. And, by all accounts, their business is booming. Ironic, considering that taxis were more or less put out of business by the growth of autos in the first place.
Update: I have been informed that there is a new initiative by 'Namma Auto' which will ply autos with digital meters and strict adherence to it (what a concept) among other improvements in service. It sounds really good and hard negotiations may become history if this succeeds and forces all auto owners to adopt the model.
4 comments:
Thank God, I am from Mumbai :-)
-- Ramesh V
There is another aspect. Basically, the auto drivers want to make just a few trips as possible and get their target daily earnings. A year ago the daily target was INR 1000/- of which 300 is for fuel, 300 to the owner/lease payment and 400 for the family (his drinks included!).
As for Call Taxi, they can also be disappointing as we experienced with a no-show at the last moment. Besides, if you get one, you must give the taxi driver instructions to get to your place and he would be coming from some place that you never heard of!
What works for me is to walk anywhere within 5km (navigating puddles and traffic) and book a cab for the entire day by scheduling visits- breakfast at one place, lunch at another, tea with another and if still up to it, dinner at the fourth and after dinner (drinks?) at another. Admittedly, that takes some planning (and obliging hosts!).
Madras is full of "call taxis" these days but getting a taxi is not easy. you have to book at least a hour in advance. Whenever I go to Madras, I prefer to travel by bus. They are very convenient. The city is well connected by the bus network and nowadays they are also not very crowded. Plus, you have luxury options available (A/C, better seats, etc) and these are definitely not crowded at all.
The pre-paid auto fare from Central works fine provided you make it to that counter. The passengers are accosted and coaxed into not going to that counter. They will say it is a long queue, why waste time when you are going to pay the same to driver accosting you, etc. And despite all their attempts, if you still choose to stand in queue at the pre-paid counter, you will hear the choicest words in typical Madras lingo. :)
If I go with family, it becomes an issue as the wife and kids are not used to walking or traveling by bus. The auto guys sniff this easily and pounce on you with vengeance.
The all-too familiar refrain one hears at the end of the invariably bumpy ride is "meter mele paarthu pottu kodunga", which translates to "make sure you pay me an amount that is appropriately and sufficently above that indicated on the meter". I am reminded of a hilarious scene in a Tamil movie where the comedian (Vivek?) leaves the fare literally on top of the meter, and feigns compliance with the driver's exhortation.
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