23rd April 2008 :: Sunset at Aksa beach

Yesterday my brother called to inform me of the auto-rickshaw strike. Here are some facts related to it

1. To run a rickshaw you need a permit issued by RTO for three years
2. The RTO has stopped issuing new permits to as there are too many rickshaws on the road
3. Since a permit is issued through RTO, it is bound to be corrupt. People who have no intentions to run a rickshaw get that permit and lease it to people who want to for a fee of Rs. 800000 for three years
4. The rickshaws are supposed to get a new electronic meter that costs Rs. 10000 (the old mechanical meter costs Rs. 4000)

In a nutshell, it is getting more and more expensive to run a rickshaw in Bombay and it is very obvious that the price for that is paid by the people using them. How? You just need to make the fare meter run a little faster. With electronic meters, they will have to find out new ways of doing it that is why they are facing so much resistance.