Share autos, once welcomed by people for their low fares when compared to autorickshaws, have turned into a menacing lot, state residents. Most commuters at Ambattur do not seem to have a good opinion on the cheap mode of transport.
“At first, they were very welcoming. People used to travel for much less money than they would normally. Slowly however, the fares went up and worse still, the attitude of such share auto drivers went south,” said Sumathi, who was waiting at the Ambattur OT bus stand.
“The share autos do not move an inch unless they fill up. They want more people to sit and so do not bother about the hassle commuters face. Because they offer services at routes that buses do not go and because they stop where people want them to, people stick to them. But, after one bad experience after another, I avoid them altogether,” she said.
“The menace and disturbances created by the share autos at the Ambattur bus stand, opposite a footwear showroom and at the Kavery junction are a lot. Even police officers are not keen to take any step to get rid of problems. The public are fed up with this,” said Manoj Kumar P, in his emailed statement to News Today.
“It is indeed a problem. I have seen these share auto people creating so much ruckus but cops never bat an eyelid. It is sad that officers who are paid to help people aid in making their lives miserable,” said Dharani, a resident of Ambattur.
Residents state that authorities who do not take action on overloaded share autos need to be punished as in the past, many such overloaded vehicles have met with accidents, taking the lives of countless number of people.
“Rules are only kept in the shelf in our country. When officials do not follow rules, the public ought not to question
them. Higher-ups need to ensure these incidents never happen again. But, I am sure such share autos will keep running the same. Who knows if they have permits or not?,” said Govind, a commuter.