Monday, April 30, 2007

Local Auto Drivers Fix New Meters

Reported by Rhea Banerjee

The State Transport Authority had revised the autorickshaw rates at the beginning of this year. It set a deadline for the recaliberation of all auto meters which fell on April 25.

The auto stand at the intersection of Sivakami Puram First Cross Street and Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar Main Road in Radhakrishnan Nagar comprises of approximately eight autorickshaws. All of the eight autorickshaws have switched over to the new electronic meters, as per another deadline set by the State Transport Authority (which ends on July 25).

At any given point of the day, a maximum of four autorickshaws are seen at this stand.
The auto drivers of this stand claim that they now follow the new rates set by the State Transport Authority. T. Sarvanan, an auto driver of this stand, said, "Yes, we do follow the new rates that have been set. It is Rs.14 for the first two kilometers and Rs. 6 for every extra kilometer."

He also confirmed that all of the autorickshaws at this stand have switched over to the electronic meters, which costs about Rs. 3000.

Sankar, another auto driver at this stand, says, "One problem with the electronic meter is that if the IC (integrated chip) of the meter fails, the whole meter must be replaced."

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