A special day. The 'auto' drivers were in a good mood!

I like to walk, but today it was around noon and a bit hot! I saw an auto parked near the junction and its nose pointing generally towards malleswaram. I approached him a little timidly.  I do that as a rule,  I have learnt that most auto drivers have attitudes similar to owners of an expensive boutique or a jewellery shop.

While I can afford to buy an auto, the driver does not know that. In his estimate if someone is dependent on his auto, it is clear that he is pretty low in our societal hierarchy and he better behave politely.

 Has anyone ever experienced this? An auto coming towards you to pick you up. I have never had this privilege in bengaluru. They will wait for you to walk to them and if the destination you are headed does not suit them they will push off even without a glance towards you. I almost fell off once as the young driver started to move and I had half a leg into his cab. That was before I understood the rule that we have seek their permission before we get in.

Recently I read a blog about rickshaws in mumbai and it surprised me. I thought mumbaikars had a better time with autos. Apparently not. His open letter to the union of auto drivers is worth reading. mumbaikars! Welcome to the fold! Read on:
My first request is that if we do make an error of hailing one of your forces, can the person at least look at us and acknowledge us? If this is not asking for too much, then I can go on. Can he also listen to us as to where we want him to take us?

My second request is can we expect your forces to understand that Mumbai has street-jams during office hours and so, during those hours, traffic would be slow anywhere and everywhere. If this is well understood, then they would not have to rudely (apologies for this word, but many feel that this too is an understatement) tell us that he cannot go on that route as there would be traffic. Don’t tell us what every kid in the city knows..................

Finally, the cops and the government tell us that an auto is supposed to ply anywhere and we passengers simply need to board the vehicles and then tell (‘tell’, I repeat, not ‘ask’).

There is more.....
http://utkarshspeak.blogspot.in/2011/06/letter-to-auto-rickshaw-drivers-union.html

But not all auto drivers are bad. Today is a good example when they, all four of them, were polite and pleasant. I have been on an auto when the driver got off  at a junction and gave a rupee or two to a lame  beggar who was squatting on the footpath. So it should be your stars, lucky or otherwise that will decide whether you are in their route.

 Here are two I would love to tell you about.

He was polite, and as the distance was around the min. meter distance he did not put the meter on. This meant that his meter was not tampered with. Sometimes I have paid one and a half the fare  from the same point. He works ten hours a day to meet his expenses, which includes schooling for his  son in the higher secondary and daughter in middle school. He says many of his fares have his mobile number and call him a day earlier, if they need him. He did not give me his number as he does not live close by. But gave me the name of a driver who parks close to where I got off in malleswaram. He also said that as the gas price has gone up, he has to work harder.

It was not today, but I met him very recently. He is rather unique. He does not ask you where you want to go. He will tell you, 'First sit down and then tell me. I will take you there.' He also works hard and is a happy person.

 I am sure there are many more who are good and honest. We must make this group larger and more effective. I am sure they will be helpful, considerate especially to the senior citizens. They are probably keeping to themselves. We must find a way of getting their telephone numbers and spread it around to various localities closest to where they live and I am sure they will come to your rescue when you need it most.