Auto-rickshaw drivers: Mumbai vs Hyderabad!

Mumbai:
One thing that struck me about Mumbai as different from any other Indian city I've visited was that autos very infrequently refuse to go to a particular destination, they charge you by the meter, the meters are all in order (no hanky-panky), and they will not round off the fare to the next multiple of 10. There is an exception to this, however, the Mumbai airport, where they will rip you apart. For the most part, though, it is almost a pleasure dealing with the auto-wallahs in that city.

Another thing is that it seems to be the only city which seems to value time. The fare shown by the meter is a function of time, in addition to being a function of the distance as it is everywhere else. And a major difference as well: a ride from Goregaon to the domestic airport in Santacruz, took me 1.5 hours and 110 rupees, while on the way back (at 4:30 AM in the morning) it took me 20 minutes and 60 rupees (didn't even charge me night fare). Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think that happens in any other city.

Hyderabad:
Change of scene: I got back from Mumbai this morning and the moment I got out of the airport terminal, there were hordes of taxi and auto drivers offering unsolicited services. I was looking out for an auto anyways, so let's ignore the solicitation issue for now. The first auto-wallah I engage with says it'll be 160/- bucks to Madhapur. Now, I don't much use autos in Hyd, having my own Dhanno (watch Sholay, if you didn't get that, you uneducated soul!), but the one route I've taken enough times on an auto is from my house to the airport or vice-versa, so I know it should cost no more than 70/- and I tell him as much, and the guy just walks off as if I'm kidding. I thought it was the other way round.

Now, one would advise that pre-paid auto services are made just for this reason, but I would love for someone to explain to me the justification of the fact that the pre-paid rate for the aforementioned route is 130/-. Even though I disagree with the idea that the government could charge for offering a "fair" priced service, I'm willing to accept a premium of 5-10 rupees just to avoid the hassle, but pre-paid at double the price is insane and criminal.

Well, the next guy said he'd go by meter plus 10 rupees, but why would I, with my freshly acquired notions of fairness, agree to something like that, so I got him to go by meter and no additions. Now, when the meter got beyond minimum fare, I realised it was majorly skipping. It could jump 20 paise sometimes and 40 or 60 other times. So I tell the guy that his meter is tampered and he should stop when he sees the next traffic policeman so that we can get it checked. He just reset the meter and kept going. Again, the meter started skipping, so I asked him to stop at the Police check-post near the JH Barista, but the dude just started apologizing and wouldn't stop. He tells me that he's just temporarily driving the auto and it's not his.

Now I'm feeling pretty bad that I didn't actually get him caught, but I noted down the license plate number and want to submit a complain. Anybody know how I can go about it?

Tags:

• Hyderabad
• Mumbai
• Consumer-rights
• Transport