The Great Green Kolkata Autos

The whole story is based in Kolkata. So each and every character (though fictitious) and each and every incident (though purely not coincidental) is from the City of Joy.

About 2 years ago, there was a lot of fuss over change of autos from non-bio to bio mode. To make it simple, earlier the autos were 2 stroke which used petrol or diesel as per the machine make. If you read the earlier line, you will think that what’s the problem if a vehicle uses petrol or diesel? All the cars and buses run on the same food of theirs and there has never been a thought of changing them. Then why the hell for autos?!!

Actually the problem is not exactly with the fuel. It’s with the 2 stroke vs 4 stroke concept. A 2 stroke auto engine is lighter, cheaper and produces a significant power boost whereas a 4 stroke is heavier, expensive. But a 2 stroke produces a lot of pollution and has more wear and tear as compared to the 4 stroke ones. Well this was the problem throughout the country and that’s why some upfront states did this change long before it was done here and that’s why there was less pollution in other places when RED was present here. The use of ‘kata-tel’ found easily at a much cheaper price compared to other liquids found a place even in newspapers and its abundant use made the pollution even more grey and dusty with ppm measure given almost every day in newspapers and local TV news channels.

GREEN-ery found its place before GREEN had actually entered the city after 2 days of bandh, road blockade, and demonstrations. All blue – white autos were replaced by the yellow-green ones and atmosphere of the city found some unpolluted air to breathe for the first time in about 5 years. The petrol pumps had a CNG section where all the autos went to fill the gas which was quite cheap compared to petrol or diesel and gave good returns in terms of kilometer travelled per litre of gas and high end performance, reducing maintenance cost.

Still some autowallas found a way out to convert a 4 stroke into 2 stroke and use ‘kata-tel’ instead of environment friendly Compressed Natural Gas. However that was a rare case and it’s not heard in recent times.

Now lets get some picture of a travel in auto and the autowallas.

Legally there can be only 4 persons in an auto, 3 at back and max 1 in front and that too on the left hand side of the driver. Leave the case of a baby who can be taken on lap and doesn’t require a seat. In Hyderabad, I had seen 4 persons at back which is still acceptable as the risk involved is very less. But here you will find 3 persons in front, which means 4 persons including the driver, 2 on left and 1 on right. Invariably 1 person’s some part of the body will be hanging outside the auto with a risk of accident at any time. This means that a single auto carries a maximum of 6 people at a particular point of time with no one complaining and everybody accepting the fact whole heartedly and using it for a faster (not safer) travel (to any place in that case, not only workplace). I have noticed a place in this city where an auto won’t start until there are 3 people in front and if you try to explain, it will end up either in a fight or you being standing in the same queue waiting for another auto or at most travel the distance in a bus. The most startling thing about this section of autos is that one of their terminus has a traffic police station sort of a setup present.

The other common issue which many people face is with ‘changes’. Well I am not talking about the colour change in WB but the ‘change’ with respect to money. Suppose an auto travel costs Rs.6. Ninety percent autowallas demand the exact fare and they are unwilling to give a change even if you offer them a note of Rs. 10. Most of the drivers make it clear at the start of the journey that if you do not have the exact fare, then you may leave the auto and try some other means while some others do the same at the end of your journey with the auto. They give their own explanations, exchange words(sometimes cuss words) and create a ‘scene’ in front of so many people that ultimately you are the one who feels embarrassed and ashamed. Infact I have seen many people giving away their pennies to auto drivers but when it comes to bus conductors/collectors, they scream and howl when the collector wants Rs.4 as change instead of the Rs.10 note, suggesting that the collectors are bound to give changes.

The misbehavior of auto drivers are not only bound w.r.t ‘changes’ only. Picking up and depositing him/her at the required places are not done in proper way all the time. Misbehaviour may happen when a lady sits in front as the auto driver inherently raises his elbow while driving. Many a times some co-passengers try not to keep their hands on their own lap but down on the seat, creating disturbance for the female passenger(s).

Rash driving and passing through the gaps between 2 buses or trucks is a common and although an auto is very helpful during traffic jams, it is also true that the jam worsens because of their nature—‘trying to sneak through any possible gap’. Going through wrong lanes, through unknown bylanes during serious road conditions are some other add on features.

The festive times are what the drivers wait for. Be it durga puja or Bengali new year, the auto fares go up by a minimum of Rs.3 and sometimes they act as taxis and also rickshaws, going to rarest of places where they are not supposed to go on normal days as they are bound  by routes, auto unions and other external factors.

Having said all these, one thing about autos which you can ignore is their presence at the awkward of times. It is those times which remind us the fact that whether you like it or not, you cannot ignore it. It is a medium of transport which has absorbed a certain amount of population on roads, reducing the pressure on buses, making it a convenient way to travel various places.