Unbelievable but true. That someone could actually fight for the right to cheat. It doesn’t end here. The cause is supported by political parties across the board. Let’s begin at the beginning.
Rickshaws and Mumbaikars have a love hate relationship. They love to hate but cannot live without each other. A year ago, a few ordinary people got together and started a "Meter Jam" campaign, a day when Mumbaikars would not use rickshaws. A way of showing the rickshaw drivers that they need to change or else. The 1st campaign tasted some success, but 3 successive attempts did not receive any response.
Last week Mumbai rickshaws suddenly went off the roads. The reason. Police has started a campaign to check rickshaw meters. Most rickshaws that were checked were found with tampered meters. The strike was to protest against the checking of meters. Unions got into the act. And since unions are run by political parties, they too wanted to be part of the solution, to a problem they created to begin with.
And the justifications were even more unbelievable. The first was that the only way rickshaw drivers could survive was by tampering with the meters and cheating the passengers. And of course, they would only ply on routes that were lucrative, and if it meant refusing passenger, well that’s yet another Right.
In India, all of us know and fight for our Rights. We forget about our responsibilities. The Union has a positive role to play. Ensure that its members the rickshaw drivers are taken care of. And so is the passenger. Here however the Union play an adversarial role. They bother neither about the rickshaw driver nor about the passengers. All they are interested is in the power of running the Union. And if it means that both the rickshaw drivers as well as passengers suffer, then guess what, yet another Right.
It’s sad that because of the internal clashes between the 5 + unions that exist, everyone ends up losing. The rickshaw drivers because they lose their livelihood on days of strike and several potential passengers on other days. The passengers who lose the convenience of a friendly neighborhood rickshaw. And the city which loses its claim to be a people friendly place.
Mumbai rickshaws and their drivers provide a service that is one of the most cost effective and efficient services, not only in India, but across the world. If only the drivers get together and form a group that disassociates from all unions and does their job, as best as they could. I’m confident that their business will go up by 100%. They may lose the 10 – 30% they gain by overcharging. But the additional revenue will more than make up for that.
Already there are a few nice things hapenning. Such as "Call a Rick." A few things that all of us in Mumbai would love to see
a. Rickshaws never saying No, and taking you wherever you want to go.
b. Meters that are not tampered.
c. Safe driving without unnecessary honking.
Even if 2 out of the 3 becomes a reality, I for one will increase my rickshaw usage from an average of Rs. 100 a month to about Rs. 1000. And you know the best part. I’ll still be saving money, (petrol and parking is expensive), the pain of driving. All in all. Happy Me, Happy Driver, Happy City.
Rickshaws and Mumbaikars have a love hate relationship. They love to hate but cannot live without each other. A year ago, a few ordinary people got together and started a "Meter Jam" campaign, a day when Mumbaikars would not use rickshaws. A way of showing the rickshaw drivers that they need to change or else. The 1st campaign tasted some success, but 3 successive attempts did not receive any response.
Last week Mumbai rickshaws suddenly went off the roads. The reason. Police has started a campaign to check rickshaw meters. Most rickshaws that were checked were found with tampered meters. The strike was to protest against the checking of meters. Unions got into the act. And since unions are run by political parties, they too wanted to be part of the solution, to a problem they created to begin with.
And the justifications were even more unbelievable. The first was that the only way rickshaw drivers could survive was by tampering with the meters and cheating the passengers. And of course, they would only ply on routes that were lucrative, and if it meant refusing passenger, well that’s yet another Right.
In India, all of us know and fight for our Rights. We forget about our responsibilities. The Union has a positive role to play. Ensure that its members the rickshaw drivers are taken care of. And so is the passenger. Here however the Union play an adversarial role. They bother neither about the rickshaw driver nor about the passengers. All they are interested is in the power of running the Union. And if it means that both the rickshaw drivers as well as passengers suffer, then guess what, yet another Right.
It’s sad that because of the internal clashes between the 5 + unions that exist, everyone ends up losing. The rickshaw drivers because they lose their livelihood on days of strike and several potential passengers on other days. The passengers who lose the convenience of a friendly neighborhood rickshaw. And the city which loses its claim to be a people friendly place.
Mumbai rickshaws and their drivers provide a service that is one of the most cost effective and efficient services, not only in India, but across the world. If only the drivers get together and form a group that disassociates from all unions and does their job, as best as they could. I’m confident that their business will go up by 100%. They may lose the 10 – 30% they gain by overcharging. But the additional revenue will more than make up for that.
Already there are a few nice things hapenning. Such as "Call a Rick." A few things that all of us in Mumbai would love to see
a. Rickshaws never saying No, and taking you wherever you want to go.
b. Meters that are not tampered.
c. Safe driving without unnecessary honking.
Even if 2 out of the 3 becomes a reality, I for one will increase my rickshaw usage from an average of Rs. 100 a month to about Rs. 1000. And you know the best part. I’ll still be saving money, (petrol and parking is expensive), the pain of driving. All in all. Happy Me, Happy Driver, Happy City.
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