Prepaid auto: Another hurdle to modern city

When the prepaid autorickshaw service was launched exactly a year ago, it was considered as a landmark in the metamorphosis of Nashik from an overgrown urbanising town to a modern vibrant city.
The service was expected to improve public transportation in the city where the local bus service is skeletal and autorickshaws do not ply by meter. There are a few taxies plying from the railway station to Nashik and from the city to nearby towns, but they take the liberty of stuffing the vehicles with as many passengers as possible and charge at whim.No wonder that most local citizens in Nashik prefer to have their own vehicle - a bicycle or a two-wheeler -for their daily travel. Those who do not have vehicles, patronize cattle-class travel in autorickshaws that ply on selective routes at 'share an auto' rates fixed by the drivers.
That makes the visitor to Nashik the most vulnerable class of traveller. A large number of pilgrims and visitors who arrive at the Nashik Road railway station are at the mercy of errant autorickshaw drivers. Since there is only one railway station within the city limits and it is around eight kilometres from the city, it is not walkable and visitors have to use public transport system.
Hence, the prepaid autorickshaw service was launched at the Nashik Road railway station and was expected to provide immense relief to visitors having little or no knowledge about Nashik's ethos. The railway station, which incidentally, handles 32 passenger trains, is used by around 25,000 passengers daily for alighting or boarding trains.
The RTO had identified 20 locations in the city and fixed the tariff for prepaid autorickshaws. An organisation took up the responsibility of operating the service and installed a booth outside the railway station. Around 200 autorickshaw drivers had registered themselves for the service and the new system began by undertaking about 50 trips daily.
The operator proposed prepaid booths in more locations like the Mahamarg bus stand and the Central Bus Stand. A special service of 'Nashik Darshan' was also planned for pilgrims and tourists.
However, the whole exercise gradually fizzled out and a year later, the service is in shambles.
According to the agency operating the service, the reasons include dwindling participation of autorickshaw drivers, lack of patronage by passengers, rising petrol prices, lack of awareness about the advantages of prepaid service and unhealthy competition between autorickshaws participating in the scheme and those outside it.
When the service was launched, the area near the railway station was exclusively reserved for autorickshaws of the prepaid service and other autorickshaws were prohibited from entering a radius of 200 metres. However, this norm was not adhered to strictly.
Since the prepaid tariff was metered rate plus 15 per cent surcharge (taking into account empty return journey), it led to an unhealthy competition, ultimately resulting in the decline in the number of autorickshaws registered for the service.
The failure of the prepaid autorickshaw scheme is yet another hiccup in the transformation of the city from a sleepy urbanising town to a modern vibrant city.
Over the past three years, several 'special drives' have been launched by the RTO and the traffic police to ensure that autorickshaws ply by metre, but the only visible change is that mechanical metres have been replaced with electronic ones and some autorickshaws have the message, 'this rickshaw plies by metre', painted on their hood alongwith the RTO helpline number for lodging complaint.
The situation is back to square one with the helpline not receiving complaints, autorickshaws not plying by metre and commuters at the mercy of errant automen.