The regional transport officer (west division) Siddappa Kaller has directed all autorickshaw owners/drivers in the city to carry the vehicle documents with them as the officials along with police would intensify inspection from Monday.

There have been complaints from passengers that auto drivers are collecting excessive fare and many autos do not have auto fare metres. This apart, several autos are running without proper permit and documents, the RTO stated in a release.

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Come January, identifying rowdy auto drivers will be a cakewalk. The Ahmedabad Autorickshaw Drivers’ Association has started issuing them swanky identity cards replacing brass badges, which they seldom wear.

The trendy cards will bear the name, badge number, licence number and address of autorickshaw drivers. Besides, the phone number of the Autorickshaw Drivers’ Association office will be embossed on them to help passengers call its office-bearers in case of disputes.

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Members of the Shimoga Taluk Auto Drivers’ and Owners’ Welfare Association staged a protest here on Wednesday urging the district administration to fulfil their various demands.

The protesters said that the State Government had issued an order to provide Ashraya sites to autorickshaw drivers under the Rajiv Gandhi Housing Scheme.

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A proposal for starting pre-paid fare for autorickshaws and streamlining their movement at the Pune railway station has been stuck for nearly eight months now. The result passengers leaving the railway station continue to be fleeced as they are forced to pay lump-some charges demanded by the autorickshaw drivers.

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Members of the Cuddalore Town Autorickshaw Drivers’ and Owners’ Federation observed a token strike from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday, urging the civic body to improve basic amenities.

Led by federation president A. Krishnamurthy, they took out a rally from ‘uzhavar sandhai’ to the Collectorate. According to sources, they had initially planned to take their vehicles off the road for 24 hours from 6 a.m. on Friday. However, following the intervention of Cuddalore MLA G.Aiyappan and municipal chairman T. Thangarasu, they staged protest only for 12 hours.

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The autorickshaw drivers in the city got another month’s time to get their uniforms ready, which were made mandatory by the traffic police and the regional transport authority (RTA). However, wearing of badges is compulsory for every auto driver from December 1.

This decision was announced by the traffic department of the city police on Saturday after a meeting with the officials of autorickshaw federations.

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17 offenders nabbed operating rickshaws without valid permits

The traffic department has finally started cracking the whip on erring auto rickshaws that overcharge and refuse fares across the city.

As part of the initial leg of the drive across the city, traffic cops have booked around 17 rickshaw drivers and owners operating without a valid permit. A case has been registered at the Bund Garden police station’s traffic division for forging symbols, registration numbers and running rickshaws without a valid permit.

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The Ahmedabad Autorickshaw Drivers’Association has decided to announce a strike from 12 pm on November 29.

The autorickshaw drivers are protesting against the increase in the price of CNG by Rs 2. The association had remained on a strike for 24 hours on November 16.

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Indian tourism authorities will be holding English classes for auto-rickshaw drivers in New Delhi as the city prepares to host the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

More than 40,000 natural gas-fueled auto-rickshaws, or motorized three-wheeled taxis, run on the Indian capital’s dilapidated roads, according to the city government statistics.

The city is expected to host around 100,000 tourists during the Commonwealth Games scheduled from October 3-14 in 2010. About 9,000 athletes and officials of 52 Commonwealth countries are likely to participate.

Some 8,000 auto-rickshaw drivers will be enrolled in the training program that will involve classes in yoga, life skills, first aid, spoken English and psychometric tests, federal Tourism Secretary Sujit Banerjee announced Tuesday.

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Aaah, the autorickshaw. Lovingly called ‘auto’ across the whole of India. You will not meet even a single Indian who does not know what it is. The one solution that is cheaper than a taxi and classier than the bus. The lone vehicle that can shake your very bones – which leave indelible impressions of the vibrant contours that form Indian road surfaces. Just look at it… I mean just look at it. The unique design of Indian autorickshaws: The pinnacle of “auto-save” – if it ever overturns… it has just the right “curves” to get itself back on its wheels. Whoever designed this thing obviously had in mind that if it ever turns around on it’s side, it will roll on to the upright position.

See below: 

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