autos have become a pain for many commuters who just keep requesting one driver after another for a ride mumbai a record 5844 cases were slapped on auto and taxi drivers in mumbai in the first 10 months of the 201819 financial year for various violations of these over 1000 had to do with fare refusal an alarming 66 rise over the corresponding period in 201718 the other violations include meter tampering rude behaviour driving without a badge not wearing uniform white or khaki clothes and carrying excess passengers the data by the transport department is till january 31 though cases of meter tamperingfaulty meter have dipped almost 50 from 199 in 201718 to 102 this time instances of rude behaviour have gone up by 63 especially by auto drivers in the suburbs 248 such cases were registered in 201819 as compared to 152 the fiscal before advt also read demand to fix auto fares based on the fuel they useerrant drivers were issued challans while licences were suspended in most cases officials said rtos at tardeo island city wadala eastern suburbs and andheri and borivli western suburbs suspended 1320 licences and 1241 permits and recovered rs 385 lakh in fines in 201819commuter rights activist a v shenoy suggested that rtos should impose stringent penalty on errant auto and taxi drivers and ensure that citizens get quality service commuters pay hefty fares they deserve a ride in a vehicle that is in good running condition with a proper meter and not be refused for shortdistance routes he saida member of mumbai autorickshawmens union blamed the menace on illegal share autos which carry four to five commuters instead of three they ply mainly in andheri jogeshwari and borivli cartels of driversalso referred to as auto mafiaexist in kurla bandra including bandra terminus and ltt and airport areas many of them have ghoda meters which run fast and show inflated faresstate transport commissioner shekhar channe who travels by auto and taxi occasionally said he has taken a serious view of all complaints he has directed rtos to treat commuter grievances on prioritydefending the cabbies taxi union leader a l quadros said kaalipeeli taxis have been serving commuters for several decades they operate within the framework of transport regulations and there are not many cases of overcharging or fare refusal auto union leader shashank rao however admitted there were rogue drivers in the trade and said his union will help rtos in weeding them out advt suraj tiwari a powai resident said kaalipeeli drivers refuse short distance rides and are interested in going only to airports now many of us have downloaded ridehailing apps on mobile so that we are assured of a cab 24x7 specially late at night he saidautos have become a pain for many commuters who just keep requesting one driver after another for a ride they have psva public services vehicle authorization badges and they are dutybound to ferry every passenger without asking any questions said suchitra dey a