Seven Strategies to getting an auto in Bangalore
I know that like me, many Bangaloreans of all origins have a lot of trouble in getting auto. The biggest problem is that people have shell out amounts which are really high. We can easily blame it on the Autowalas but the truth is that he too wants to earn a lot of money like all of us out here. He too wants to have a Capachino at the CCD or take a bite at McDees. But the auto fare just does not allow him to do all that. Now that he has an advantage got himself. There a lot of people and comparatively lot less auto-rickshaws. So he just asks for obscene amounts of money for a distance way too less. I have faced it myself and now here I present to you 'Strategies to getting an auto in Bangalore'.
Well let me start with rule no. 1
Rule 1
If you just cannot follow this rule, please do not read further.The strategy is definitely not going to work for you. Infact you could even help raising the unjustified fares even more.
Rule 2
Why is that. Well thats just to emphasise on Rule 1. I hope you will read further only if you ready to follow Rule1
Rule 3
It is a general observation that the the autos in stand would never go for hire unless you pay extra. So you would never get an auto on hire from the stand. But still give it a try. Never bargain, just refuse right on the fact. It will make them realize that people are not ready to pay extra. This is very important in the long term perspective. So how do you get an auto. Read the next rule
Rule 4
By the above rule what I mean is that you should give the auto driver a reason to give you the service. This should not be confused with more money.
That the most you could have done wrong. Actually this is what is going wrong. Give him a softer reason. Something like a longer distance or to a place where he can get a lot more hirers. Another possibility is that you are going to the place where that auto driver belongs to. In fact this is what next rule asks you to do
Rule 5
You need to stand in the right place to take an auto. I would give a personal experience in this regard. How many times have you tried to get an auto from MG Road to say something like Airport Road or Indiranagar. I am sure you would have had failed in the endeavor or paid heavily for it. But if you try the same thing while standing on the Residency Road, you will end up happy. The reason being that person is going to somewhere there itself and so is rather happy to take you along. You can try other places too. Readers are requested to share their similar experiences. Other alternative is that you should try and take pre-paid auto. Thats a rather nice way to get off all the hassles. But then its not available everywhere.
Rule 6
Most of the time drivers are rather unwilling to go long distances. Something like going from Basveshwarnagar to Indiranagar may be a rather long one and not many will be ready for it. So break your journey up. Take an auto to something like Shivajinagar and take another from there to Indiranagar. In this way you have little discomfort of taking 2 autos but believe me you will end up saving a lot of headache and money. Of course make sure that you get down somewhere you know can get an auto easily.
Rule 7
The auto driver is yet another service provider. You tip the waiter in a hotel or at a pizza store. Why not tip an auto driver for his good behavior. Sometimes even a thank you makes the life of a person better. It gives him a sense of pride. I wonder why people dont do that in India.
Thats it from me. If you folks find any better ways, please comment. If you liked my suggestion I wish you would spread the word and comment on the post too. Please feel free to copy paste and forward ;-)
Well let me start with rule no. 1
Rule 1
Never pay more that whats in the meter.
If you just cannot follow this rule, please do not read further.The strategy is definitely not going to work for you. Infact you could even help raising the unjustified fares even more.
Rule 2
Read Rule No. 1 Again
Why is that. Well thats just to emphasise on Rule 1. I hope you will read further only if you ready to follow Rule1
Rule 3
Always ask autos parked in the stand but never hire unless they go as per fare meter.
It is a general observation that the the autos in stand would never go for hire unless you pay extra. So you would never get an auto on hire from the stand. But still give it a try. Never bargain, just refuse right on the fact. It will make them realize that people are not ready to pay extra. This is very important in the long term perspective. So how do you get an auto. Read the next rule
Rule 4
Give him a reason to take you to your destination
By the above rule what I mean is that you should give the auto driver a reason to give you the service. This should not be confused with more money.
That the most you could have done wrong. Actually this is what is going wrong. Give him a softer reason. Something like a longer distance or to a place where he can get a lot more hirers. Another possibility is that you are going to the place where that auto driver belongs to. In fact this is what next rule asks you to do
Rule 5
Take an auto from the right place
You need to stand in the right place to take an auto. I would give a personal experience in this regard. How many times have you tried to get an auto from MG Road to say something like Airport Road or Indiranagar. I am sure you would have had failed in the endeavor or paid heavily for it. But if you try the same thing while standing on the Residency Road, you will end up happy. The reason being that person is going to somewhere there itself and so is rather happy to take you along. You can try other places too. Readers are requested to share their similar experiences. Other alternative is that you should try and take pre-paid auto. Thats a rather nice way to get off all the hassles. But then its not available everywhere.
Rule 6
Break up your journey if its too long and and the drivers are unwilling
Most of the time drivers are rather unwilling to go long distances. Something like going from Basveshwarnagar to Indiranagar may be a rather long one and not many will be ready for it. So break your journey up. Take an auto to something like Shivajinagar and take another from there to Indiranagar. In this way you have little discomfort of taking 2 autos but believe me you will end up saving a lot of headache and money. Of course make sure that you get down somewhere you know can get an auto easily.
Rule 7
Treat the auto driver as another service provider
The auto driver is yet another service provider. You tip the waiter in a hotel or at a pizza store. Why not tip an auto driver for his good behavior. Sometimes even a thank you makes the life of a person better. It gives him a sense of pride. I wonder why people dont do that in India.
Thats it from me. If you folks find any better ways, please comment. If you liked my suggestion I wish you would spread the word and comment on the post too. Please feel free to copy paste and forward ;-)
Comments
What I do most of the times is : 14 ticks of your hands leads to a rupee change in the meter.May be we can also try this one...Most of the times it works...
Also,when some auto guy asks me for 50 bucks(i.e more than the normal meter fare), I always tell him more than 50...When you say this , you should anger on their face :) My hope is at least one day, most of autos in Bangalore would have correct meters and they wuld charge as per the meter but for this,I guess "I NEED A REBIRTH" :)
-Himanshu Sheth
It seems like you have been bitten by the Gandhigiri bug ;-)....Not a bad policy to follow and I hope u dont have to go for a rebirth.