Pre-paid auto stand to come up at 10 Bengaluru Metro stations

BENGALURU:  The exorbitant fares demanded by autorickshaw drivers from Metro stations to houses dotting Kanakapura Road, forced residents to seek the traffic police’s help during a recent grievance redressal meet. To rein in exploitative auto drivers, police will be opening up pre-paid auto counters at ten Metro stations across Phase-I, and operational stations of Phase-II.  

On January 15 last year, the Green Line extension between Yelachenahalli and Silk Institute was thrown open for commercial operations. With numerous apartment complexes along the stretch, the line was welcomed by residents. However, dependency on autos or cab aggregators for last-mile or first-mile connectivity has emboldened drivers to charge as per their whims. Yelachenahalli, Konanakunte Cross, Doddakallasandra, Vajrahalli, Thalaghattapura and Silk Institute are the six stations where commuters get fleeced daily. 

Abdul Aleem, president, Changemakers of Kanakapura, an umbrella organisation of 60 resident welfare organisations, said, “Along with these six stations, Metro commuters struggle at JP Nagar too. We raised this issue during a meeting held at Vajrahalli last month, with the Police Commissioner and other top cops.” 

Lakshmi Balaji, a resident of Mantri Tranquil, said, “Our apartment is less than 1km from Doddakallasandra station, but auto drivers charge Rs 60-70. Uber Auto charged me Rs 94 for a trip last month. Local drivers take their cue from them.”

DCP Traffic West, Kuldeep Jain told TNIE, “We will shortly bring in a pre-paid auto system at ten Metro stations. Banashankari and Yelachenahalli figure among them.” No one at BMRCL was able to provide details on the other stations where pre-paid facility would be made available.

Flat residents pick up each other 
To cut fleecing by autos and cab/auto aggregators, residents of Mantri Tranquil at Gubbalala on Kanakapura Road, located within 1km of Doddakallasandra Metro station, have created a WhatsApp group. Those who use personal vehicles put out an alert to others on the group when leaving the apartment to the station, or returning home from Doddakallasandra station.