The Auto Drivers!!!

My ICM-trip started earlier this month. From 12-16th August i was in Bangalore attending a satellite conference on Approaches towards Representation theory, then i attended the ICM at hyderabad from 19-27th August  and now i am in Bangalore till 31st August to participate in the conference on Group Theory. with all the travelling i am feeling rather tourist-like. but this post isn't about how good or bad i felt amidst the pool of mathematicians at all the above mentioned conferences.... it is on how agitating the whole travelling business has become in India !

let me mention at the onset that i am not too fond of travelling....  and one of the reasons for this is that i hate to haggle and at the same time i hate being cheated......  so when an auto rickshaw driver demanded 1.5 times the fare as quoted by his tampered meter at 11:30 this morning i flew into a rage. an ugly fight followed ... at the end of which i budged and paid an exorbitant amount for a short distance travelled in Bangalore.... i was desperate to lodge a complaint against the driver... so i googled and  found the following system for registering complaints against auto-drivers in Bangalore.


The System
Note the vehicle number (KA-XX-YY-ZZZZ) and email the details to transcom@kar.nic.in , Based on the prefix XX (for example KA-01), complaint will be sent to one of the ten RTO offices in Bangalore and adjacent taluk areas.
Alternatively, one can also call these offices at the number given below based on the vehicle number prefix and directly lodge a complaint.

Vehicle Prefix (KA-XX) Bangalore location Phone number

* KA-01 Koramangala 080-25533525
* KA-02 Rajajinagar 080-23324104
* KA-03 Indiranagar 080-25254310
* KA-04 Yeshwantpur 080-23376039
* KA-05 Jayanagar 080-26630989
* KA-41 Gyanabharthi 080-28602833
* KA-50 Yelahanka 080-28561366
* KA-51 Electronic City 080-25735522
* KA-52 NeelaMangala 08234-285598
* KA-53 KR Puram 080-25617951

Once the complaint is received at the corresponding office, a notice is issued to the address of the vehicle’s registered owner, requiring him/her to turn up at the RTO office within 7 working days. Every RTO has about 10 IMV’s (Inspector of Motor Vehicles) who seize the vehicles which don’t report to the RTO.

The penalty levied from the auto-waalas is rs.100 under section 200.

The various offences among others for which one can lodge a complaint

* Refusal to come to destination (Any destination!!!)
* Demanding excess fare
* Using rough language
* Cheat the public, for e.g. taking longer routes.
* Faulty Meter

There is also a helpline number - 080-22353785 available Monday – Saturday from 10:00 am - 5:30 pm on which one can call to lodge complaints. 

The system was given in this post. since many of us are hassled by these auto-drivers on a regular basis so i thought that the above info might be useful to many of you!

will google some more and try to share all the info i can gather along these lines soon.....

The system to register complaints against auto-drivers in Chennai: (found here)

In response to the following question:  What are the mechanisms provided to the public to report contract carriage auto rickshaws NOT plying according to the government prescribed rates of fare? 

The Public Information Officer, Transport Department, Chennai said that: Phone numbers of the Regional Transport Officers, where permits are issued to an Auto rickshaw are painted in visible portion on the back side of Auto rickshaw so that public can make complaint of erring auto rickshaws immediately.