At Andheri station, auto drivers refuse rides; RTO cracks down

(Representational Image) 

The Andheri Regional Transport Office (RTO) has started conducting surprise checks to nab auto drivers who refuse rides to commuters outside Andheri station. Officials, posing as customers, hail autos, and if the drivers refuse rides, they are detained. At least 40 drivers have been nabbed over the past month, officials said.

The campaign started after a deputy superintendent of police (DSP) from Aurangabad division narrated her ordeal in getting an autorickshaw after she alighted from the train at Andheri station on social media. On March 24, Sujata Patil, who had suffered a fractured leg and was accompanied by her unwell daughter, expressed disappointment over how police officers in the vicinity had not come to her aid. “After the incident, we have made the checks stricter around Andheri station. If drivers see police officers in uniform, they get alerted. So during off peak hours in the afternoon and late evening, our officials, who are not wearing uniforms, take rickshaw rides and check for refusals,” said a senior official at Andheri RTO.

The checks have been conducted largely outside the western side of Andheri station.

“Rickshaw drivers park their vehicle in two separate queues outside the station — one for the share rides and one for others. While there is no problem with the ones who offer share rides, the other drivers taking rides by the meter are found to be notorious. Most offer excuses such as having run out of gas. If they are in the queue and if their meter is up, ride refusal is not an option,” said Abhay Deshpande, senior RTO officer at Andheri.

Officials said they have also managed to tap 55 cases of unregistered autorickshaws due to the surprise checks. As they are short staffed, they have restricted the checks around Andheri but plan to replicate them in other areas of western suburbs.

“The western suburbs have more than one lakh rickshaws. If a few erring drivers are penalised, we hope others could learn lessons,” added Deshpande. Regular commuters around Andheri station approved of the checks, but said they should be conducted regularly.

“While fining the drivers is good, the penalties must be increased for such drivers. If a repeat offender is held, his licence must be seized for a few days. Traffic police must also check for the increasing menace of drivers who break queues, thus creating chaos outside the station area,” said freelance writer Uma Nabhar, who regularly commutes from Andheri station.