Mumbai auto

skeletor

Chosen of the Omnissiah
Today's incident. The auto-waalah wasn't ready to go by the meter. Hauz Khas to R.K. Puram is exactly 40 if you go by meter. Instead he demanded 50 rudely.

My reply:

"dekh bhaya, shanti te bolta toh mai tanne 60 bhi de deta. eeb mai 40 bhi na daen waala."

Boarded a DTC bus and reached home. Rs. 10.

Note: Metro and Buses are major win in Delhi. Autos are stupid.
 

sygeek

Technomancer
I wasn't expecting this at all. lmao

P.S., Rickshaws FTW!

This reminds me of a question: When was the last time you had a good experience using something available to public in India?
 

skeletor

Chosen of the Omnissiah
well, they are only over-crowded during the peak hours. If you know the routes, then it is very easy for you to travel.

I'm not talking about the driving skills of the drivers. :p
 

Ethan_Hunt

Aspiring Novelist
Come and experience New Delhi's auto drivers. You will go back to Mumbai/Thane region and kiss their feet for being angels.

Normal Delhi Route:

1. You request (try to flag down) passing autos. 5-6th one stops.
2. You walk up to empty auto's and mention your destination. "We not going in that direction". "Will drop you half way". Back to (1).
3. After you mention destination -- they are confused on location. You give detailed directions, wag their head NO, and drive off. You eat the dust. Back to (1).
4. Agrees to take you. Refuses meter. Requests an exorbitant tariff ~1.5 times higher. Back to (1).
5. You haggle and negotiate a reasonable tariff (though you are paying 30% overhead) and sit in the auto.
6. He lights up a bidi
7. While driving, spits gutka/paan/kheni spit out side the moving auto. It backwashes to your face/clothes.
8. Puts on loud desi music.
9. Suddenly in the middle of the normal route, detours to another road.
10. You get of at a CNG pump (long line of 10 autos ahead of you) and wait for SIR to refuel the gas.
11. You sit and surf the net on GPRS while driver stops on the highway to urinate.
12. You join him and relieve yourself.
13. You wait and admire the fly overs of New Delhi -- while the auto guy is buying narcotic substances and / or drinking water from the road side.
14. You also buy some paan waala goodies and drink water.
15. You reach your destination.
16. He does not have change. You buy something from a road side shop (ciggie/toffees) to get change.
17. If (16) not possible, you leave the tariff closest to highest common denominator of "10".
18. Whines and cringes for more money, cause you got off at your colony house, and not at the "main-market" as you mentioned when the deal was finalized, and negotiations were happening.
19. You swear back.
20. He swears back.
21. You walk home -- pissed.

Normal route from New Delhi railway station:

1. Your exit out side Ajmeri gate/Pahar ganj.
2. 10 auto drivers hawk down to you.
3. You decide on one.
4. Destination is told, and price is quoted ~2.5x normal.
5. You deal down to 1.5x.
6. They buddy, another unknown passenger with you.
7. Squeeze in with a stranger + put wallet in front pocket + clutch phone + pray to GOD for safety.
8. (7) gets dropped first.
This deserves a f*ckin' REP. :grin:

Although, my recent experience with Auto's, here in Bombay, has been a mixed bag. There have been numerous occasions when these pricks wouldn't even stop if your stood/slept right in front of it. But then there was this one old chap who dropped me to my location and my fare, as usual, is the minimum one, which is 11 bucks to the bus stop. Unfortunately, I didn't have 1 Rupee change that day. So I decided to hand him 20 bucks and asked him to keep it. He looked back at me and said "Beta nahi nahi. Sirf 11 rupye hue hain aur aap 20 rupya de rahe ho." Then he promptly started searching his pocket and somehow managed to get the remaining 9 rupee change. That gesture restored my faith, to some extent, but it's really been a 1-in-a-million kind of case.

I don't have any personal hatred against these people, but it's really annoying when they don't halt, when you wave at them. :-x
 

asingh

Aspiring Novelist
Today's incident. The auto-waalah wasn't ready to go by the meter. Hauz Khas to R.K. Puram is exactly 40 if you go by meter. Instead he demanded 50 rudely.

My reply:

"dekh bhaya, shanti te bolta toh mai tanne 60 bhi de deta. eeb mai 40 bhi na daen waala."

Boarded a DTC bus and reached home. Rs. 10.

Note: Metro and Buses are major win in Delhi. Autos are retarded.

Took the 680...? Crosses Sangam Cinema..via Munirka..!

This deserves a f*ckin' REP. :grin:

Although, my recent experience with Auto's, here in Bombay, has been a mixed bag. There have been numerous occasions when these pricks wouldn't even stop if your stood/slept right in front of it. But then there was this one old chap who dropped me to my location and my fare, as usual, is the minimum one, which is 11 bucks to the bus stop. Unfortunately, I didn't have 1 Rupee change that day. So I decided to hand him 20 bucks and asked him to keep it. He looked back at me and said "Beta nahi nahi. Sirf 11 rupye hue hain aur aap 20 rupya de rahe ho." Then he promptly started searching his pocket and somehow managed to get the remaining 9 rupee change. That gesture restored my faith, to some extent, but it's really been a 1-in-a-million kind of case.

I don't have any personal hatred against these people, but it's really annoying when they don't halt, when you wave at them. :-x

Thanks...!

Though Mumbai auto dudes are far better than New Delhi ones. Most people say that. My experience is same.
 

abhidev

Human Spambot
@rhitwick: it seems either you are restigated from your school/college or got fired from work...are thinking of becoming a rickshaw driver....:D..just kidding....why so much love for them??? :p
 

Sarath

iDota
OP needs to come to Bangalore. He will follow it up with a cuss filled article about the auto wallahs.
You will have the following experiences when trying to hire an auto in Bangalore:

1. The fares always start in and are negotiated in multiples of 100s even if you want to travel 2kms
2. He wont come on hire for reasons I have not understood till date despite being without a hire for hours together
3. The meter will not work in half of the autos
4. The meter will stop working mid way through the ride in the other half of the autos
5. In the 5% of the working meters the guy will take you through short cuts that for some reason show you every notable tourist attraction of the city before reaching your destination
6. Paying by the meter is as rare as a govt officer rejecting bribe
7. They are bad at math so their 1.5times fare is always more than our calculations
8. For them night starts from 7pm although rules state it to be 9pm
9. They earn most of their money after 10pm outside pubs getting drunk ppl to pay up their misery. So they dont really care about all the sober ones in the morning. Rs.500 at a go.



10.The above stands true in 80% of the cases from my 2years of using their services here. However every now and then I have found some people making an honest living by going by the meter and I really appreciate them for their honesty. They sometimes dont even accept tips. I have only come across such people in 10-20 occasions in 4years.

But at the end of the day its hard work for them. Its easier for us to curse them in forums like these all the while knowing that for them sitting in front of a PC and chatting with a group of link minded people in a forum is a luxury they will not most likely experience in this lifetime.
 

Tech&ME

Banned
OP needs to come to Bangalore. He will follow it up with a cuss filled article about the auto wallahs.
You will have the following experiences when trying to hire an auto in Bangalore:

1. The fares always start in and are negotiated in multiples of 100s even if you want to travel 2kms
2. He wont come on hire for reasons I have not understood till date despite being without a hire for hours together
3. The meter will not work in half of the autos
4. The meter will stop working mid way through the ride in the other half of the autos
5. In the 5% of the working meters the guy will take you through short cuts that for some reason show you every notable tourist attraction of the city before reaching your destination
6. Paying by the meter is as rare as a govt officer rejecting bribe
7. They are bad at math so their 1.5times fare is always more than our calculations
8. For them night starts from 7pm although rules state it to be 9pm
9. They earn most of their money after 10pm outside pubs getting drunk ppl to pay up their misery. So they dont really care about all the sober ones in the morning. Rs.500 at a go.



10.The above stands true in 80% of the cases from my 2years of using their services here. However every now and then I have found some people making an honest living by going by the meter and I really appreciate them for their honesty. They sometimes dont even accept tips. I have only come across such people in 10-20 occasions in 4years.

But at the end of the day its hard work for them. Its easier for us to curse them in forums like these all the while knowing that for them sitting in front of a PC and chatting with a group of link minded people in a forum is a luxury they will not most likely experience in this lifetime.

^^ I agree to some extend.

Bangaloreans are far better then Delhi and Mumbai Auto wallas.

My experience in Bangalore!

1. They will ask u to fix the fare and then put the METER on hire !!

2. They will tell u to say that you have hired the Auto on Meter to the Police if caught.

3. They will drop you to your destination from the shortcut route (don't know why).

4. On the destination point they will ask you to pay TIP (Sir, 5 ruppes main ek kaffi bhi nahi aatha) which implies pay more TIP to him.

5. But they are happy with the TIP no more barganing for EXTRA money!!

6. They are honest by far, I have seen.

On a side note:

Condition of Autos in Bangalore are by every means much much better.
Karnataka Govt. Rules are very different for Autos in INDIA.
Front Glass (WindSheld) of the Auto must be a SINGLE piece (TVS) and not THREE piece (old bajaj).
No right side ENTRY /EXIT facility.
Drive's Enlarged Driving License is printed and pasted behind the driver's own seat rest.
Uniform is a must if they want to ply their Auto's on the road --- or pay a fine of Rs 100/-
Auto's are clean and green, they are well decorated also from inside.
They are good driver's too.
There are 3 different unions in bangalore for AUTOs.
 
Last edited:

Ronnie11

Judgement Time!!
Come and experience New Delhi's auto drivers. You will go back to Mumbai/Thane region and kiss their feet for being angels.

Normal Delhi Route:

1. You request (try to flag down) passing autos. 5-6th one stops.
2. You walk up to empty auto's and mention your destination. "We not going in that direction". "Will drop you half way". Back to (1).
3. After you mention destination -- they are confused on location. You give detailed directions, wag their head NO, and drive off. You eat the dust. Back to (1).
4. Agrees to take you. Refuses meter. Requests an exorbitant tariff ~1.5 times higher. Back to (1).
5. You haggle and negotiate a reasonable tariff (though you are paying 30% overhead) and sit in the auto.
6. He lights up a bidi
7. While driving, spits gutka/paan/kheni spit out side the moving auto. It backwashes to your face/clothes.
8. Puts on loud desi music.
9. Suddenly in the middle of the normal route, detours to another road.
10. You get of at a CNG pump (long line of 10 autos ahead of you) and wait for SIR to refuel the gas.
11. You sit and surf the net on GPRS while driver stops on the highway to urinate.
12. You join him and relieve yourself.
13. You wait and admire the fly overs of New Delhi -- while the auto guy is buying narcotic substances and / or drinking water from the road side.
14. You also buy some paan waala goodies and drink water.
15. You reach your destination.
16. He does not have change. You buy something from a road side shop (ciggie/toffees) to get change.
17. If (16) not possible, you leave the tariff closest to highest common denominator of "10".
18. Whines and cringes for more money, cause you got off at your colony house, and not at the "main-market" as you mentioned when the deal was finalized, and negotiations were happening.
19. You swear back.
20. He swears back.
21. You walk home -- pissed.

Normal route from New Delhi railway station:

1. Your exit out side Ajmeri gate/Pahar ganj.
2. 10 auto drivers hawk down to you.
3. You decide on one.
4. Destination is told, and price is quoted ~2.5x normal.
5. You deal down to 1.5x.
6. They buddy, another unknown passenger with you.
7. Squeeze in with a stranger + put wallet in front pocket + clutch phone + pray to GOD for safety.
8. (7) gets dropped first.
LMAO...this is the best description i have ever read...lol...

i thought may be after the hike in fares,they will stop refusing to ply people to their destinations..the first few weeks were excellent...many people had complained on the traffic police website..sadly now they are back to square one...refusing to ply...now they want the same fare as delhi that is 19 rupees or so...its a joke seriously...
 

gagan007

Uhu, Not Gonna Happen!
hey Sarath, you forgot the "tampered meters". I came across 3-4 such cases in which I was not able to believe my eyes on the speed with which meter was running! One time I threatened the autowalla that I will go to police station and complain about his faulty meter. He charged fair amount.

Well it is not always bad experience, I have some good ppl also. Even when it was raining they didn't ask for a penny extra. Some returned exact change and didn't ask for tip, but those are rare gems :)
 
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