In Chennai, daily 5 lakh people travel by share autos
Posted on: 08/Jan/2020 10:06:17 AM
These days share autos have become very popular among the residents of Chennai as these share autos are cheap and convenient. Every day, around 5 lakhs people use these share autos in Chennai city.
The government is not showing interest to regularize these share autos and it does not have any data on share auto drivers, routes and fares. It is brought out that anybody could buy a maxi cab, register it as goods carriage and use it to transport people by naming it as share auto in an illegal manner. There are rules that prevent the share auto owners to modify the interiors of these vehicles. The share auto owners have taken the rules on their hands and have fixed chairs and covered roofs with tarpaulin etc.
Permits have been issued to commercial vehicles with yellow plates involved in public transportation and it detains specific routes on which they operate. Significant amount of money is earned by the government by these permits and any violation would attract penalty.
The share autos are operated in every routes and this is the difference in the operation of share autos and the private buses or government buses (these buses are operated in specific routes only). Point to be noted here is RTO`s have stopped issuing permits to the share autos long back but that has not stopped the proliferation of these vehicles.
In the year 2010, the number of share autos was just 12,000 and the number has crossed 60,000 in places like Chennai, Chengalpet, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur. It was mentioned by a transport activist Mr. Rengachari that share autos have become an inevitable last mile connectivity option for the residents.
He added that instead of banning these share autos the government must regulate their operations. He was of the view that the government must make share autos a revenue source in the form of taxes and permit fees etc. It was revealed by a senior official belonging to MTC that share autos instead of operating along the same routes as government buses, must augment government bus services and by this government would be benefited.
