[hellmet]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Not taking their sides, but when you have to maintain a family (rent, food, education) & still live a respectable life, that would be luxury for most.

Honestly, that's no excuse for not maintaining your prized vehicle. If they were really struggling to make a reasonable living, they'd display better attitudes towards their customers, so I won't go with that one . The only reasonable explanation for me is the one suggested above, about autos that are rented out where neither the owner nor the driver care about spending on any 'extras' when they're making money even without them.

By the way, nice signature! Didn't understand the #58 forever though.

[condor]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

2. People who rent the auto from others. These account for majority of the auto population and the major culprits of ill mannered driving and associated harassment that goes along with it. These drivers don't care about the auto as they don't own them and hence are not bothered about maintaining and usually look for cheaper adulterated fuel to make more money.

+1.

Not all auto's are owned by the one driving it. And of those that are owner driven, not all have to be maintained well. Hence this large proportion of badly maintained auto's.

It is also possible that the rented auto's are second hand / N-th hand, and already in a bad state. Such an auto in the hands of a non-owner is (only) most likely to get worse.

[a4anurag]

The smoke that they emit is like it can be used in Fumigation of any room. you won't need special equipment and when these autos are put on inclines it is a sight to watch them struggling and not going anywhere unless all the passengers are got off.

The auto is rusted at most of the areas and the right rear tire and mudflap and black by the smoke which colors it but the rest will be muddy. What safety they have is a question and the way they are driven gets the heart in my mouth.

RE Diesel autos are discontinued here or are on the verge of getting discontinued as the high torquey engine and such drivers will make a mess of the roads.

Anurag.

[nettooran]

I disagree. check out the pic. Scorpio autorikshaw.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by nettooran

I disagree. check out the pic. Scorpio autorikshaw.

Wild one! Cross between an auto, bolero and Scorpio.

[ghodlur]

In my interaction with the Ricky drivers whenever I got an oppurtunity, I was told that since most of the ricks are given on rent for driving the driver dont give a damn about maintaining the autos. They are busy trying to earn an extra buck that they fail to notice that the seats have come off, the cushions are torn, the entire auto rattles like its going to fall off over the next speed breaker or pothole. Even the rusted sections, protruding nails/sharp edges arent taken care of.

In contrast however I have seen owners who themselves drive do keep the auto spick and span. One of them even asked me if I know of any place where he can the auto teflon coated, detailed, shampoed.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by hellmet

By the way, nice signature! Didn't understand the #58 forever though.

Extremely OT: #58 is the number of Marco Simoncelli, who passed away in an accident during the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang on 23 October 2011

[mayankjha1806]

Mostly the owned ones are slightly better cared then the rented ones. I have seen a few which are quiet decked up as well, and they are always owned.

With the way the traffic is in most of the cities, Autos do take a decent amount of beating and spending for every dent and scratch would not make sound financial sense, considering they probably make just enough to decently survive.

[ruchir911]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Not taking their sides, but when you have to maintain a family (rent, food, education) & still live a respectable life, that would be luxury for most.

They aren't driving autos out of choice, are they?

Please reverse the role & ask this question.

Thanks

With the kind of unbridled money they make over the fair tariff? Naah... I don't think they are too bad in a condition compared to the rest of India.

I assume they do not maintain their only source of livelihood (except where the guy sells off a piece of land, makes big money and has a rick just to kill time) just because of pure neglect, (also manifested in the many facets of his life) and utter disregard to any form of civic sense. Now, please don't quote poverty as the only reason. Cleanliness and upkeep does not necessarily have to have cost tagged along, it needs more of acceptance and willingness to do so.

Another major contributor is the governance (or the lack of it). What penalty does he pay for a polluting on un-kept vehicle? Practically nothing. A country where every nook and corner is infested with dirt and paan peeks (apart from no regard to law etc.) the culture breeds offenders.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by ruchir911

Another major contributor is the governance (or the lack of it). What penalty does he pay for a polluting on un-kept vehicle? Practically nothing. A country where every nook and corner is infested with dirt and paan peeks (apart from no regard to law etc.) the culture breeds offenders.

Spot On Ruchir!

The way these auto and bus walahs peek out their windows is bad and disgusting. They don't even bothered to see what is behind and is anyone tailgating them so as to prevent their peek from falling on the following car/driver.

I have seen a couple of incidents where auto drivers were thrashed for peeking at signals without looking in their RVM.

You can't really help with this attitude. Only time can get a change in these people or the law must be strict enough to penalize them.

Anurag.

[YaeJay]

There are two kinds of rick drivers at least in chennai ( There are more than two, but just limiting to transporting people from A to B, as per the wishes of the one that gets in)

The hard working type, they own their auto, on the plus side of 35 usually, have a family, have plans for their kids etc. They usually have a few regular customers who trust them, they usually do not have any weakness or they have over come those.
They do not usually do late night runs. But for a regular customer they would come at anytime of the day or night if there is an emergency.

The second kind, rent autos, its a few hundred rs a day, amount paid in advance unless the owner knows the drivers for a long time. The first motive of these drivers is to recover that x amount as rent and also pay the fuel bill. Most likely example is one that asks you/customer for petrol cash after he pulls up into a pump.
Those autos would have seen no maintanence. The drivers dont care about it.
For the owners its always breakdown maintanence. Its an investment, Oilchange? just top up.

The first kind could shame most members here when it comes to the love and care they give to their three wheels.

[Skyline GT-R]

It varies from region to region, i guess. Have noticed most of the auto-rickshaws in Kerala are well maintained with many of the sporting music systems & even TV. Seats with thigh support & head rests are too common to mention.

Exhaust note of Chennai autos are the best though.

[DWind]

Originally Posted by YaeJay

There are two kinds of rick drivers at least in chennai ( There are more than two, but just limiting to transporting people from A to B, as per the wishes of the one that gets in)

Very well put! Unfortunately the first kind are very few are threatened to extinction by the second type. The first kind are not allowed to solicit customers near auto stands which now more in number and are a nuisance to the public.

[silversteed]

Originally Posted by Skyline GT-R

It varies from region to region, i guess. Have noticed most of the auto-rickshaws in Kerala are well maintained with many of the sporting music systems & even TV. Seats with thigh support & head rests are too common to mention.

The On-Lease concept has not yet caught up with the ricks in Kerala, yet. So, we see really well-maintained examples

Exhaust note of Chennai autos are the best though.

Yeah, the best you can find, to irritate you and cause a splitting headache, in addition to causing extremely high levels of Sound Pollution

[gabrielthomas]

I wanted to start this thread exclusively for the "Share Auto menace" that I have been facing almost everyday while I'm on the roads. The most common problems I encounter every day are:

1. They stop suddenly when a customer puts out their hands for a ride. I know we are not supposed to follow a SA closely, but don't they need to have designated stops so that it minimizes the risk of being or having to rear-end?

2. On a two lane road, they smell and snort slowly across the left most lane trying to get a "Customer" on the right hand side an heavily loaded truck is trying to pull itself - the result - a dozen vehicles following these two trying to guess which one would clear faster.

3. They occupy the bays reserved for public buses - the result - these buses spill over to the main road and stand right in the center - the result - chaos, chaos and more chaos. Adding to this fact, most of the bus bays are put up right after a traffic light!! Amazing!

4. The "Piaggio Share Autos" - According to me these guys are the most dangerous and irritating fellows. They make two passengers sit on either side of the driver and the knee of the person sitting on the right hand side sticks out which is prone to get hit. The moment you hit it - you are gone!

These three are the most common issues that I face every day. So I just wanted to understand how was life before this type of a transport was introduced? Are these vehicles a boon or a bane? Can't the government regulate these vehicles and bring more mini buses and buses to ply for short distances for a cheaper rate?

Just wanted to know your views!