Preeja Prasad By Express News Service BENGALURU: Many citizens continue to be irked by the fact that autorickshaws in the city are not following rules. Commuters say that they are still forced to strike deals over fares with drivers at various places such as malls, railway stations, and also during peak hour. In addition to this, the public say that most of the vehicles tied to cab aggregator companies, are unreachable on the phone beyond 6 pm. With traffic fines in 11 different categories, citizens question why auto drivers are not being penalised for refusing to ply and violating the meter rule. This year, 12,015 cases have been booked under refusal to hire and 11,504 cases under demanding excess fare. “We are fining those violating the law. We have different platforms like the Public Eye app, social media and even a WhatsApp number to receive complaints. We continue to urge the public to inform us if they see such cases,” said KV Jagadeesh, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Traffic (East). While the auto drivers have to pay a court fine between Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000, Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Ravikanthe Gowda said the department has been focusing on enforcement, education and engineering. “Ideally, it is both the traffic and the Transport Department that need to ensure that autorickshaw drivers follow laws. We are seizing their vehicles whenever complaints are received,” he said. It has been seven years since the autorickshaw meter fares were revised, but those tied up with cab companies feel another revision in the fares will put them in a tough spot. They fear they may lose their customers if fares are increased. Manjunath, president of Adarsha Auto Union, said, “It is usually revised every three years, but the last time it was done was in 2013. ”After 10 pm, the meter charge is 1.5 times the fare, while post 12 am, the charge doubles the rate. “From 5 am to 10 pm, it is the regular fare which commuters and drivers need to be aware of,” said a traffic police officer.

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