Prepaid Auto Service in Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar is set to get pre-paid autorickshaw service in two months as decided at the preliminary meeting by the officials of Transport Department and the Police Commissionerate on Monday. Taking a cue from Cuttack, the state government has decided to introduce pre-paid auto-rickshaw service at the railway station and Biju Patnaik Airport in Bhubaneswar.

The proposal was initiated to provide better services to the commuters. The service will be introduced at the railway station and the airport. For this purpose a rate chart will be prepared by the department. The autorickshaws running under the pre-paid auto service will have to register under the scheme and agree to abide by the rules and regulations.

Nearly 17,000 autos ply the city streets on any given day. Commuters have been complaining against auto drivers charging arbitrary fares. Commuters are hopeful the service will provide relief from the problem of haggling with drivers.

Check also: Prepaid autos in Bhubaneswar railway station from 22 March 2015

The traffic police will be in charge of looking after proper running of the service. A technical committee comprising traffic police representatives, autorickshaw associations, regional transport office and the department has been set up to decide on the fare chart.

“From the security point of view, it is a viable public transport system because the pre-paid ticket will bear details about the driver in case he misbehaves with passengers. Pre-paid auto service is doing well in Cuttack. After an inter-departmental meeting, we will also hold discussions with auto-rickshaw associations in the city prior to the launch of the service,” twin city commissioner of police Sunil Roy said.

The department has also decided to revise the Statewide auto fare chart. The last revision was done by the State Government in 2008.

“The current autorickshaw fare is not in tune with the present requirement after many fuel price hikes in the recent past. So we will very soon undertake the Statewide revision and implement it as soon as it is done,” said Mathivathanan.