Scary AutoRickshaws !

“Please….Could you please drop me at my house???…Please……..”. YES I am pleading to someone and the person is an auto driver in Bangalore. 

They just say NO when they hear “HSR Layout”. Its either a blunt NO or nod as in ‘NO’. Sometimes they give me a look as if “who asked you to stay in HSR??”(For those who are not familiar with places in Bangalore, HSR layout is a residential area along the outer ring road near Koramangala or Near FORUM !) 

Sometimes they just say 35 Rs (for One KM ride, which is outrageous !!!!!!)…..If I ask him to turn on the meter he will shoo me away !Man!!!! the attitude of the auto drivers in Bangalore is outrageous !!!!

 Last week I boarded an auto to Koramangala from HSR ( approx 4 kms), he agreed to my demand to turn the meter on. It was surprising how the meter ran, it was running even faster than the auto. “Okay I get it” I thought and kept my cool. The auto reached a traffic stop, the driver killed the engine… the meter was running still !! !!!!! and that too pace that your 150 CC bike will look dumb! !!!  The meter being a mechanical one I was surprised !!!!.I asked him “Are bhai this meter is running like a jet plane !!” He said its waiting charge !!I got pissed off and asked him to stop in front of Madiwala Police station. He did, I got out and checked the meter, it read “50”. I gave him 30 and told him that this is all I have..He dint complain though, I guess he was scared that I will report it to the police who was right in front of the place we stopped!. He turned and sped away! 

The attitude these guys show is scary. They bargain the rates with us and they agree to one, but at the drop point they demand more with many reasons to prove them right  like the road was bad, its raining, its 8PM, its 8AM, you are ugly or whatever.I see no end to this. Yes, if the authorities were more kind to us in enforcing and initiating few things like 

1. Routine meter checks for tampering.
2. Prepaid counters setup near shopping malls, railway stations and bus stations.
3. At least not turning a blind eye when you they see the auto drivers treating us badly.