Jawed Khurshid

Commuters in Mumbai never tire of lamenting about the problems they face in finding autos that take them to their desired destinations in the city. Despite being ubiquitous on the streets and alleys of the metropolis they are beyond your reach.

At Mankhurd Station it is an uphill task to find autos. Sanjay Sawant said, ‘My nephew suffers from physical debility. Despite pleading with the drivers to ferry him, they never agree. Perennially, he wastes 20 – 30 minutes before he gets an auto.’

Sulaiman Shaikh, speaking on the poor etiquette of the cabbie said, ‘These drivers lack respect for the aged. It has become near impossible to get an auto that is ready to carry me to my dwelling at Lallubhai Compound.’

Paul Fernandes said, "I had to go to Borivli and was refused by several drivers before one of them finally agreed to ply me. Why do these drivers refuse to ply passengers when they are not supposed to say no?"

Auto driver Santosh sounds logical when he politely refused to ply Fernandes "Sorry, but I have to refill the gas tank urgently."

While many auto drivers differ. One Rakesh Pawar, who plies between Govandi and Shivaji Nagar said, ‘Since I operate on a sharing basis, I don't ply passengers by meter."

Sanjay Tripathi, an auto driver, rued, ‘How come it's my fault if the vehicle has developed a technical snag? You are needlessly raking up the controversy.’

Many autowallas sound rational as in the case of one Santosh Yadav. Defending his action (on refusing to ply a commuter) he said, ‘I had to drop my relative to a clinic in this area and was waiting for him to return. Hence I refused to carry the passenger.’

An irked passenger Mrityunjay Singh aired his grouse against the auto-driver, ‘Without giving a proper explanation for his refusal, the driver just sped away.’

Similarly, Syed Manzar too was singed by a cabbie’s indiscretion, said, ‘Being a flower vendor, I always have some luggage with me. Most of the drivers refuse me, stating that the luggage is too heavy for their vehicle.’

However, the autowallas remain adamant on their stand.  Sandeep Mishra said: "What's the harm if we refuse to ply?’

The Mumbai traffic rules clearly state that refusing passengers to any particular route that is commutable violates law and invite penalty.

Ironically, neither the passengers are acquainted with this nor the cabbie. Even if they are reminded of the law they brush this aside. The cops too remain indifferent to this.