If Bangalore needed more autos, every single auto would be engaged the entire day and people would not be able to find one when they needed it. But the prevailing situation is totally different, you will find people desparately trying to flag down autos when they are right in front of an entire stand of autos, simply because those men either don't want to move their poteriors or its their tea break or its their 'meeting time'.
It doesn't matter that they are standing in front of hospitals where autos are constantly needed. If your home is not where they want to go... then bad for you. Maybe along with clearences from various governmental bodies before the sanctioning of land for homes, we should also seek the local auto stands consent on whether and where they are willing to take residents of that area.
It doesn't matter to this set of the working class that we are standing with little children or old people who can barely stand straight have to wait for ages to find a willing auto. Distances should not be too far or too near. Time of the day should be between their meals, and their snooze routines. And for all this worry, will they take what the meter shows... sure, if they have already tampered with it, there is nothing much you can say other than "I know this is not the right price". If you happen to come out of a mall, it is taken for granted that you have money to throw and costs for reaching you and your heavy grocery bags will double.
Does it ever strike these men, that we EARN our livelihood too. That we too would like to save on unnecessary expenditure. Its not like someone is standing on the road doling out auto money to all of us. When we report to our offices, there is a time limit on even out loo visits, let alone coffee breaks and lunch breaks. Late entries can be penalised, refusal to do our designated work can get us fired. These men don't have to earn their livelihood amidst such tyranny. So WHY!! then can't they do their jobs well. Maybe we should suggest to the union a day of job swapping!!
But as an afterthought, you will find a few diamonds amidst the coal. When I was trying to hail on auto one afternoon with my daughter in tow, nobody was ready to take us to Bannerghata road. An auto just pulled up next to us and before I could tell him where we wanted to go (as is customary), he said, "It doesn't matter, just get in, I will go anywhere." Once in, he told us that he hated the men of his tribe simply because they sat around wasting their time. He said, as an auto driver he considered it his duty to take a passenger where they wanted to go. It is after all what he signed up for. He added that it was men like lazy bones around that spoiled the name of his community. Well said!! wish more of them thought like you.
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