Gurgaon gets pre-paid auto rickshaw service

Gurgaon city got its first pre-paid auto rickshaw facility Thursday, an official said.

The trial run of the pre-paid autos was rolled out by Deputy Commissioner Shekhar Vidyarthi and Commissioner of Police Alok Mittal from two locations - HUDA City Centre Metro Station and Gurgaon Railway Station.

Initially, the service has been started from these two locations only.

Pre-paid autos will be available to the passengers from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The fares have been fixed as per rates prevailing in Delhi in accordance with suggestions by a three-member committee constituted by the district administration.

For the first two km, the fare will be Rs.25 and thereafter Rs.8 will be charged per km. For luggage, passengers will be charged Rs.7.50 per bag and Rs.30 per hour will be charged as waiting charges for more than 15 minutes.

Two booths have been set up at both the locations. Once a passenger comes to the booth, the booth employees will set the charges depending on the distance.

The names and contact numbers of the auto driver and passenger will be recorded in the booth register.

The passengers can also give their feedback on a coupon given to them by the booth employees. The auto driver will have to produce the coupon in the booth to collect the fare.

Traffic police and Haryana Roadways employees have been deputed at the booths for giving coupons to the passengers.

President of the auto union Rishipal has assured the deputy commissioner and police commissioner of full cooperation in running the pre-paid autos in a systematic manner.

"This is a trial run and we would try to remove the shortcomings that are noticed during the operation of this facility," Police Commissioner Alok Mittal said.

He said the facility will dispel the passenger's fear of getting over charged.

If the trial run succeeds, such pre-paid auto facilities would be started from more locations, he added.