06 March, 2012

Travelling by auto in Hyderabad - Not an easy task

To all those who travel by autos in Hyderabad.. do you have a hassle free travel always? I have a few good and many not so good experiences.
I have patience of a saint.. not kidding :) true! i wont get angry often and even if i get, i wont lose control of myself and shout/ scold in the peak of my voice. I try to control and talk about the issue with logic. But, when it comes to auto wallahs i just lose my patience and get angry. See below some of the reasons..


1. Auto fares: First thing that irritates me is autos not having meters. In few areas of Hyderabad, autos will not have meters which show fare and distance. Even if some autos have, 80% of them are tampered as per ndtv survey!
Auto wallahs who doesn't have meters for their autos will demand a hell lot of amount(which is at least Rs.50+ genuine meter fare) and our skill of bargaining helps to some extent. If you speak perfect hyderabadi language with confidence,there are more chances of reducing the fare.


Got this info from andhraspider.com which might be useful to know auto fares:
Minimum Fare for Autos in Hyderabad: Rs14 for first 1.5Km
Fare per km: Rs8perKm
Waiting Charges: Rs15/hour – minimum 1minute is taken
No extra charge for luggage
Formula for calculating cost of your journey (for more than 15kms): Rs. [14 + (Total Distance-1.5)*8]
 



2. Language: Some auto drivers here just try to scare you by speaking in urdu/ hindi, especially if you are a Telugu person. So, usually people who come from different places of Andhra feel un-comfortable to bargain in Hindi. This is what they want! I have come across some auto drivers who are reckless, drive very fast, doesn't talk with respect etc., So, any day, if i come across an auto driver who speaks to passengers with respect, i just give him extra money without bargaining much. Because, it is very difficult to find these kind of people.


3. Safety:  Just observe traffic signals.. autos being small, move between vehicles easily. If you are a newbie driver, then first thing you should be careful about in cities are auto drivers. Autos go zig zag in the gaps between vehicles so easily like bikes do. Forget about safety if you are travelling in share autos. They can fit any number of people in auto and driver will be fine with very less space for him to sit/ even stand. 


Sometimes, i feel taxis are better when compared to autos except for the fact that they are not very economical. It will cost around Rs.100 by auto from our place to Secunderabad railway station and auto drivers will demand at least Rs.150. If we book a cab, it will cost Rs.250, but driver will be waiting at your door step 10 mins before the expected time to leave. Since distance is constant and time to reach station will be within one hour, there will not be any change in cab fare. There will be enough space for luggage and 4 persons can travel comfortably in cab with AC.
What you say?


Until next time,












Image courtesy: http://www.spiritualbangalore.com/

1 comment:

Thanks for dropping by! please share your opinion :)

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