more-in People of Vijayawada have been suffering from numerous difficulties when it comes to hiring an auto, be it standing on the roads and waiting for an auto in the scorching heat, arguing with the auto drivers for a bargain or paying inflated fares in the absence of meters. “I travel to and fro from Bandar Road to Eluru Road everyday, which costs me around ?120, and is not reasonable at all,” said a regular auto passenger. However, some people here have found a solution to this harrowing experience in the form of apps through which they can book their rides with standardised fares, saving them from all the haggling. “We now prefer Ola autos as they are cheaper for travelling within the city. Earlier, we had to wait for several minutes for an auto and as the autos of our city do not work on meters, it took a lot of talking and bargaining to fix a reasonable price. But, we prefer using them only for travelling within a distance of 4 km. In case of a greater distance, we find the ride very costly." said a frequent Ola auto customer. Growing patronage In the past four months, not only has the number of people preferring Ola autos has increased, but also the number of auto drivers working for Ola has increased. Durgarao, an Ola auto driver said, “The main advantage of working under Ola is, I don't have to argue with the customers as the ride is fixed.” Some auto drivers feel Ola autos have started giving them a tough competition, whereas others do not think that is the case. Venu, a local auto driver said, “I don't think it has affected us much. Auto drivers working under Ola earn less than us, but they still prefer it just because they have been provided with a touch screen mobile phone.” Nevertheless, this service is being availed by the people who use internet and have smartphones and by non-natives. Prathignan Gaddam, the Ola Auto department manager, said: “The average charges are ?6 for each kilometre and ?2 for each minute of travel, together with the minimum charges fixed by the company. So, people can travel within a distance of 4 km by just paying ? 30 to ?40. It also benefits the auto drivers as they don’t have to make dry runs waiting for passengers.”

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