Tell fleecing autorickshaw drivers Meterpodu

CHENNAI: How often have you stepped into the nearest auto in sight, pressed for time, only to curse the auto driver the moment he names his price? For sure, every single time if you’re in Chennai. US-based Ananthanarayanan Subramanian had it even worse when he decided to shift back to Chennai eight years ago. “I was shocked at the fares that I was hearing to take an auto ride,” he states. And that’s why www.meterpodu.in was born.The week-old website serves as a quick guide to offer those unfamiliar with routes and rates in Chennai with approximate charges fixed by the government. Mayur Narasimhan, an IT professional who co-founded the project explains, “We offer the government rate based on the official cost for two kilometres and after. There is also an average ‘practical’ charge that is put up by users of that route.” To make it more user-friendly, the site also shows a map that marks out the start to finish destinations and the distance calculation in kilometres. “So far, we’ve had about a 1,000 users per day,” says Mayur.In fact, he adds, “Initially meterpodu.in was meant to be for Chennai and Bengaluru, but many have asked us to include other cities as well.” Coimbatore, in particular, has people complaining of rates as high as `35 for a minimum distance of two kilometeres, he says. This is not the official rate, he clarifies, but rather the expected norm there. Presently, the website offers auto-fare calculation for Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Mysore.While auto fares continue to soar, one might wonder how effective this tool can be in a city where meters being turned on is something of a rarity? “Actually, I’ve never seen an auto driver turn on the meter. Not even once,” confirms Mayur. But he responds, “The hope is that when more people are aware of exact fares, they don’t get fleeced too badly.” In the future, the plan is to make Meterpodu rates available via SMS, stresses Mayur and later as a Facebook and Android app to make it more accessible. While it is certain that this service is sure to come as a welcome measure to many a commuter - whether they are foreign tourists or out-of-towners or simply mathematically challenged folks, it does come as a surprise that these entrepreneurs do not readily jump on the bandwagon to bad mouth auto drivers. Anantha responds, “They have their own financial problems to deal with, and often are at the mercy of the person who rents the auto to them.”There’s even an anecdote he shares that seems straight out of Ajith-starrer Thirupathi. He recalls, “My cousin was going into labour a few years ago and we had to rush her to a hospital.” This ride took place in a yellow three-wheeler, easy guess.  And Anantha goes on, “When  we reached the hospital, the auto driver refused to take any payment as it was ‘free for delivery’.” He adds, “That stayed with me for a long time.”