Autos back on roads, find hardly any takers

Coimbatore: Autorickshaw drivers were disappointed to find hardly any patrons as they resumed operations after around two months of lockdown restrictions on Saturday. They attributed the situation to lack of commuters in the absence of proper public transport and the state’s rule restricting the number of passengers per trip to just one.
Auto driver union representatives said only 60% autorickshaws was on roads in the district on Saturday. The rest are being repaired and most probably would start operations on Monday. There are around 13,000 autorickshaws in the city limits and another 2,000 in rural areas.
P K Sugumaran, president, Coimbatore Federation of all Autorickshaw Workers’ Union, said, “We will see more rides only if the ‘one person per ride’ rule is relaxed. At least, two people should be allowed per ride. Usually, people would want to travel in autos only as families or in groups.”
M Nagaraj, an auto driver, said he managed to get only one ride that too to a hospital. “Because of the state rule we lost a few rides that otherwise we could have got. People hesitate to take an auto just for a person. If two people are allowed, we could ensure a distance of around 2ft between them inside the vehicle. Moreover, we have kept sanitisers in our vehicles and most people wear masks.”
Nagaraj said almost none of the 150 auto drivers on their WhatsApp group had found any rides. Disappointed, many of them left for homes by noon.
D Shobinath, an auto driver from Perianaickenpalayam, said things weren’t any different for him either. “I went around areas such as Veerapandi Pirivu, Perianaickenpalayam and Thudiyalur, but didn’t manage to get any ride. Only if bus services resume, there would be movement of people, who would take auto rides.”
Drivers said before lockdown they used to earn Rs 600-Rs 700 a day, of which Rs 200 would be spent on diesel. But on Saturday, they had to return home empty-handed with an extra expenditure on fuel. Some drivers said they had borrowed money from relatives to meet family expenditure for the past two months.
The union has sought the state to allow them to ferry at least two passengers per ride and a compensation of Rs 15,000 towards their livelihood disruption due to lockdown.