Caught between faulty network and Government challans, auto drivers want to do away with the mandatory GPS system.
New Delhi: Delhi Government, in 2016 made it compulsory to equip auto-rickshaws with GPS devices to ensure women’s safety in India’s ‘rape capital’. In spite of this, most autorickshaws commute without GPS. The Delhi auto drivers hold the Government and network providers responsible for this.
“Even after paying so much money to the government and network providers, the GPS doesn’t work”, says Rakesh Sood, an auto-rickshaw driver from Yamuna Vihar, New Delhi.
GPS activation requires an initial payment of Rs. 1420 per year. This gets the auto drivers a DIMTS (Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System) receipt which is in turn used to activate their GPS devices. Further, the autowallahs have added costs of SIM recharge. More often than not the GPS sim cards purchased, do not work for more than three-four months. Consequently, the Government starts warning with a fine of Rs 5000, in case a vehicle is not fitted with the working device.
“My Aircel sim card was supposed to be valid for a year. It stopped working after 3 months. Now I have to purchase another SIM worth Rs 600. I don’t think it will last a year”, said Brijnandan Prasand, an auto-rickshaw driver in Kalkaji.
The decision was officially implemented during the hearing of a plea by Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh who sought direction to exempt auto rickshaws from installing GPS/GPRS in view of the ‘Nirbhaya Scheme’ launched by the Centre in 2016. Delhi government introduced the policy to monitor the movement of autos to ensure security of commuters, particularly of women, children and elders.
Shamim Ahmed, auto-rickshaw driver in Subhash Nagar understands that GPS monitoring ensures women’s safety in public transport. He has switched between different network providers only to realise that all are the same. “It doesn’t matter if I switch from Aircel to Reliance. They sell us GPS sim cards, claiming that these would work for a year. They usually stop working in 2-3 months”, says Ahmed.
When contacted, the meter houses also blamed service providers like Aircel and Reliance.
“There is nothing wrong with our GPS meters. Aircel and Reliance stopped selling GPS sim cards last year. Auto drivers are often cheated into buying fake sim cards. This is why the GPS devices don’t work for them. We always ask them to buy from authorised service providers”, said Tarun Kohli from Navrang meter house.
After the GPS devices stop working, the auto-drivers start receiving ‘warnings’ on their registered phone numbers. A warning for a challan of Rs 5000 being issued by Delhi Government.
“We can be charged with a fine of Rs. 5000 if our vehicles do not have GPS devices. Maintaining a GPS device is a costly affair, as well,” says Ahmed
When contacted, Kailash Gehlot, the transport minister of New Delhi said, “This is a problem with the network providers. Raise the issue with them. We don’t have anything to do with it”
Aircel and Reliance did not respond to repeated requests for comment at the time of publishing this article.
Ansar, do you really understand the ground-reality about autorickshaws? Anyone above 20 knows that they were, and still are, always a take-at-own risk mode of transport (putting a GPS on one is akin to putting a seatbelt on a mobike)!