Mumbai: Refusal by auto-rickshaws to ply by meter is a problem faced by Mumbaikars at different locations in the city. A area where this issue is most troublesome is the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) outside the Bandra East railway station. A commuter had a similar experience recently in BKC outside the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center (NMACC), and he shared his ordeal on social media platform X.
An X user with the handlename "NK" who identifies himself as Naraayan Kannan, shared pictures of the rickshaws who refused to ply by meter and shared that drivers were asking for Rs 30 per trip.
"Solid racket ongoing by autos at BKC outside NMACC Autos asking for 30 per seat refusing trips by meter No answer by @MTPHereToHelp @MumbaiPolice on 100. These 2 autos refused meter asked me to speak sweetly for them breaking the law Is there any law left in Mumbai @MMVD_RTO," the user said in his post on X and also tagged Mumbai Traffic Police and other authorities in the post on May 4, 2024.
Mumbai Traffic Police Reacts
To its credit, the Mumbai Trafffic Police reacted to the post with a picture of the fine imposed on a driver for refusing to ply by meter within 24 hours of complaint on X. However, the Mumbai Traffic Police sharing the screenshot of challan details showed that the rickshaw driver was asked to pay Rs 50 for "refusing to ply by meter". This got the netizens angry and upset who questioned the amount and asked if it was enough to deter the erring drivers from repeating what they do.
"No wonder they are not afraid," reacted a user on X.
"This is a joke," wrote a user.
"This is just for sake of Twitter call," reacted a netizen.
"Penalty is Rs 100 so why did you fine 50 only," asked another user on social media platform X.
"Wow, Rs 50 is such a massive deterrent!" exclaimed an user in jest.
As evident in the posts above, netizens and X users were surely not impressed with the Mumbai Traffic Police for the Rs 50 fine on auto-rickshaw driver for refusing to ply by meter. The menace of auto-rickshaws refusing to ply by meter and asking for pre-determined rates or even refusing to ply "short-distance" commuters is a real problem faced by Mumbaikars across the city.
