[raghu.t.k]

Also there is waterlogging at many places. One more reason I see that we should not pay the toll for OMR. How could a toll road have water logging problem is beyon reason. I thought this problem was solved, probably its not as acute as before, hust trying to be an optimist..

[VKS]

There was a big traffic jam at Velachery this afternoon, I was not able to cross over from Westin side towards Phoenix Mall and had to take a U-turn and join the Velachery - GST 100 feet Road to come for work.

The Velachery Main road is in a mess with half the road dug up for Metro water pipeline.

I see que of vehicles from my window inside DLF now, not sure what will be the condition outside.

[raghu.t.k]

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

Also there is waterlogging at many places. One more reason I see that we should not pay the toll for OMR. How could a toll road have water logging problem is beyon reason. I thought this problem was solved, probably its not as acute as before, hust trying to be an optimist..

Wanted to write this but noticed I had put it a couple of weeks back. Its really criminal of these guys to collect toll on OMR. I had to get my Bike (cl500) serviced, which I normally give at the RE Workshop at Kottivakkam. In the evening when I went an collected it around 6:30 - 7:00, the downpour started and not sure how long it lasted, as it seemed ages for me waiting at the workshop! That was least of the troubles. The minute I enter the service late, I find it inundated at some spots, and once I get onto OMR towards Navalur, it was flooded at many places with some of them well ove the silencer. In this melee a couple of nuts both 2 and 4 wheelers were driving with scant regards to the water being pumped onto others. Infact saw a santro drive at good speed in front of TCS, and the water was splashed over the top of the an OLA cab and onto his windscreen as well. Thanks to him I did not get wet due to this moron's actions. I think, sitting in the comfy of the metal cage we forget that there are humans around us, drive with total disregard.

Not sure when will we get some relief wrt this OMR and from the toll as well. I dont mind paying toll for good infrastructure. not to half baked solutions.

[arvind71181]

Reposting my post from the "heartwarming experiences" thread as it deals with a Chennai auto guy

This did not happen to me but my wife:

My wife had to come back in an auto one day from work. She does not have a very good relationship with the auto stand next to her office as they take every opportunity to fleece everyone. Anyway that night it was a bit late and hence she got into an available auto. She told the amount she was willing to pay and there was no response from the auto guy.

When she got down at my house, she was about to give the amount which she had talked to him when the person asked her to give 20 Rs only (In Chennai, at 8PM for a distance of around 10km). Surprised, she asked the reason and what he said was this in his own words:

"You do not remember me but I had dropped you some days back from office to your home. That day my child was unwell and I did not have any money and was wondering what to do when I was dropping you. You did not have change that day so your father in law paid on your behalf and he gave me a 100 thinking it to be a 50 note. Even I noticed only after I had gone some distance. Because of that extra money, I was able to buy some medicines for my kid. So today I am taking this money from you only as a token gesture"

Wow!! Such people still exist!!! Realized that not all auto guys are the same "fleece the customer" type. May such auto guys tribe (infact such nice humans) increase

[CliffHanger]

Originally Posted by arvind71181

Wow!! Such people still exist!!! Realized that not all auto guys are the same "fleece the customer" type. May such auto guys tribe (infact such nice humans) increase

I think being in City for longer periods make us all cynical.

I recently visited my hometown in southern part of Tamil Nadu and was taken aback by the behaviour of people there.

Simple, honest, friendly and lots of love on offer -- is what I could see on majority of people there. Not many of them were rich, but the kind of respect they share among them and the love between them made me realize how cynical I have become after being in Chennai for quite some time.

So, when I was driving through the country roads, my instincts automatically forced me to drive at a speed that is safe to the people living there, I realized how driving at high speeds on those roads might bring an unpleasant surprise to the people there who otherwise live a beautiful life.

My request to all fellow city bred people -- please do not drive rashly when driving in country roads, it impacts the harmony of people living there in a big way. We are used to it, but they are not. Just as we leave the city limits, let's also leave the madness of the city.

[ravradha]

Autonomics
The Hindu
November 15, 2014
Link

What is the economics behind the autorickshaw trade in Chennai? Who gains, who loses? To find out, we followed one driver – from the day he went to buy an autorickshaw and waited outside the RTO to obtain the relevant paperwork, to the first week on the road. Based on his experience and interviews with half a dozen other drivers, here's what we found

1) Is it viable to use the meter?

Yes. After repeated intervention by the courts, Chennai currently has one of the fairest autorickshaw fare slabs in the country. Over a rainy week, when income takes a dip due to bad road conditions, a meter-using driver still made around Rs. 5,000.

An autorickshaw driver in Chennai, after accounting for all expenses, takes home anywhere between Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 15,000 a month. Despite this, barely a year after the new fare structure came into effect, autorickshaw drivers are once again flouting the meter norm.

One critical reason for this could be the additional costs the system imposes on autorickshaw drivers, even before the vehicle hits the road. Autos are inexplicably more expensive than they should be. Drivers pay more than the official rates for everything, from insurance to registration (at Kolathur RTO, there were 13 touts and papers were cleared only if their initials were inscribed on forms). The costs added up to an extra Rs. 1,500 in monthly loan repayments, which is nearly 10 percent of the take-home income

2) Why is it so hard to reform the autorickshaw business?

Cartels. Chennai's auto woes may not be a simple pricing problem, but a system problem. A reasonable fare system would immediately work if there is a competitive, free market system in place. But Chennai's autorickshaw market is far from being free.

There are cartels all along the chain – starting with dealers who manage to sell autos at prices higher than some cars. The three major auto dealers in Chennai sell the vehicles for around Rs. 1.71 lakh each, although receipts available with The Hindu show the price off the manufacturing floor is around Rs. 1 lakh.

“They obviously operate like a cartel,” says Aishwarya Raman of Auto Raja. “Even the look of the autos hasn't drastically changed. There is no competition and nobody is contesting these prices,” she says. There is no competition on the streets either because auto unions and neighbourhood stands, again, act like cartels.

The only long term solution is government regulation which will allow the formation of companies and cooperatives. There is an existing model within the city itself that can be adopted, namely, the call taxi service. The per-km cost of a call taxi ride has fallen by nearly 20 per cent since 2004.

3) Can mobile applications show the way?

Perhaps not. Due to increasing competition from call taxi services, cities are witnessing a suite of solutions that intend to disrupt the auto market – from Delhi's Pooch-O and Bangalore's mGaadi, to Chennai's own call-based services like Auto Raja and Namma Auto.

The experience of other cities shows the primary advantage of these services is increasing the average number of kilometres operated by an autorickshaw driver. Chennai's current average of 98 km per auto, per day, is one of the lowest in the country. If autos don't clock more kilometres on the road, drivers won't make enough money.

However, solutions like Auto Raja may not make a major dent since they account for a mere 500 of the city's 72,000-odd autorickshaws. The prevailing rules are preventing larger innovation because the State government has repeatedly focused on restriction, rather than regulation, says Madhur Sivaraman of the Centre for Public Policy Research.

The government currently decides who can drive an auto, how an auto should look and even, till 2010, how many autos should ply in the city. “It's a failure of the system when taxis are able to compete with autos,” says Sivaraman

Purchasing pains

What it should have cost:
Auto Rs. 99,900 + retailer's profit Rs. 1.71 lakh
Permit Rs. 375 Rs. 375 [extra Rs. 1,000 to get it on the same day]
Insurance Rs. 5,080 Rs. 5,250
Registration, FC Rs. 1,850 Rs. 6,500

What it actually cost:
Rs. 1.71 lakh
Rs. 375 [extra Rs. 1,000 to get it on the same day]
Rs. 5,250
Rs. 6,500

Auto price, over the years
2009 - Rs. 1.35 lakh
2011 - Rs. 1.52 lakh
2014 - Rs. 1.71 lakh

No. of autos in city
2009: 44,973
2014: 72,294

Fairest of the fares
Chennai's government-fixed auto fares would be the envy of autorickshaw drivers across the country. Though drivers here constantly complain, the city's fare structure is tilted more in favour of auto drivers than even cities like Mumbai and Delhi, where the cost of living is much higher. "In a study we did earlier this year, we found the cost of operation of an autorickshaw is just Rs. 3.5 per km," says Roshan Toshniwal of EMBARQ. "Chennai's auto drivers have gotten used to fleecing because there was no fare reform for 14 years. It's a culture issue now," he says.

How much a 10-km auto ride will cost you
Delhi Rs. 89
Hyderabad Rs. 113
Mumbai Rs. 114
Pune Rs. 117
Chennai Rs. 124
Bengaluru Rs. 131

[hajaar]

I got into an altercation with an auto driver when turning left from cenotaph road onto mount road. There was a water lorry parked and I was carefully trying to swing around when this auto came in the opposite direction without stopping. Thankfully, I was driving slowly as I knew this was a place where autos and two-wheelers tend to violate the one-way. The funny thing (in retrospect) is that this auto guy gave me a stare and when I was staring back, he started shouting at me. I was bemused, mentally gave him the finger and drove off.

I really need to put my gopro to use and use pics from it to post on the chennai traffic police FB page.

[supremeBaleno]

What's the odds of seeing 2 Ninja bikes in the signature green colour in Chennai within a few minutes of each other ? Was returning after dropping the car at Ignite today when this guy (seemed to be a mechanic from the grease-stained attire) rides past. A minute or so another Ninja zips by - looked like a guy on his way to work.

[VKS]

I went to Chennai Central Railway station on Sunday, what a mess it has become. There is no contractor for the parking because of the metro construction.

There were many Cabs parked leaving very few spots for parking, I had to wait for 20 minutes to get a parking.

[pramodpk]

I would be driving around in Chennai on 20th and 21st in a KA registered car.
Anything to be careful about?

This is the map of places that I want to take on 21st, Sunday. Start time around 10:00 AM. Average halt time per point would be around 10 mins.

Does this look OK?

https://goo.gl/maps/S6QU0


Is it advisable to go to Marina beach on Saturday evening by car? or should I take a bus?

Any other place worth visiting? I do not have a specific agenda... just drive around showing good places in Chennai to my wife and daughter.

Thanks.

[joecherian]

Originally Posted by pramodpk

I would be driving around in Chennai on 20th and 21st in a KA registered car.
Anything to be careful about?

This is the map of places that I want to take on 21st, Sunday. Start time around 10:00 AM. Average halt time per point would be around 10 mins.

Does this look OK?

https://goo.gl/maps/S6QU0


Is it advisable to go to Marina beach on Saturday evening by car? or should I take a bus?

Any other place worth visiting? I do not have a specific agenda... just drive around showing good places in Chennai to my wife and daughter.

Thanks.

Chennai police are not as bad as KA guys when coming to other state vehicles. But then for your peace of mind , I would suggest to book a fast track/Meru taxi so that you don't have to look for parking slots in each of your point of interests. But, if you are just planning a drive through, it should be ok. In case you plan to park and visit at each spot, it is better to leave the headache to the driver

[supremeBaleno]

@pramodpk, drive around in any-state registration car in Chennai without any issues. Cops don't bother (bikes with other state registration will be stopped though).
BTW, was your query about issues-with-cops or about any issues due to TN-KA friction ? Either ways, no issues as of today.

BTW, talking of autos, Ola app now has been extended to include auto-rickshaws too. Pay only the government-fixed fare + Rs10 as booking charges. Cool, I think.
As it is with the Ola mini and other such services, cab rates are down to auto-rates and auto-guys will finally have no option but to go by the fare-meter.
This is the benefit of competition.

Eg. a friend took a Ola mini Indica from Sithalapakkam to Velachery yesterday night 11PM - charge was just Rs192.
I doubt an auto would come for that money even in daytime for a distance that is 10+ kms.

[D C]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

@pramodpk, drive around in any-state registration car in Chennai without any issues. Cops don't bother (bikes with other state registration will be stopped though).

True. I am driving a KL registered vehicle in Chennai.

On a separate note, I was stopped on 25th afternoon in front of Ashok Leyland next to ITC Grand Chola in Guindy. The police wanted me to show them the original RC instead of a copy. I had copy of RC and had original DL with me, however, since it is an other state vehicle they need original RC. I thought that doesn't make sense. The first officer asked me to pay Rs. 100/- fine with receipt to the other officer. I went to him and said I never heard of this rule and its not documented anywhere. Now that I started talking sense, he said you need to carry the original of either or RC, DL or ID proof. Bingo! The two officers says two different rules, that's when I realized they are making money for the Christmas party. I told them if that rule exists, I will keep the original going forward and won't pay any fine since I had the original DL with me. They just let me go. I have noticed they were only stopping other state registered vehicle.

Btw, they never asked if I was traveling or staying in Chennai with KL registered vehicle.

[raghu.t.k]

Wishing you all a happy new year.

Driving down ONR even at 9:00pm yesterday, was a nightmare. Any idea why those flashy bright lights put up at various places in Chennai? These were dazzling and irritating? Not sure where they get such Ideas? Saw them on OMR, Kotturpuram road and Near the Anna Arch as well

[Reisender]

Originally Posted by raghu.t.k

Wishing you all a happy new year.

Driving down ONR even at 9:00pm yesterday, was a nightmare. Any idea why those flashy bright lights put up at various places in Chennai? These were dazzling and irritating? Not sure where they get such Ideas? Saw them on OMR, Kotturpuram road and Near the Anna Arch as well

@Raghu - Those irritating lights were in GST road as well. I felt it was too bright/flashy than an high beam. God knows who is $&*#$*#& guy gave that idea of using it.