Note: The list presented below is only partial and will be updated in September 2011 or later.

Each of the issues listed below can be almost immediately addressed, provided we have a government which works in an accountable, responsible and transparent manner.

Auto finance mafia

The issue of Auto Finance Mafia has been discussed separately at length and lies before the Supreme Court of India (August 2011). Because of the involvement of auto-finance-mafia, an auto that should be officially priced at Rs.1,35,000 today costs a poor auto driver Rs.6,00,000 in the market. The government has known this for ages, but has done absolutely nothing about it. Instead, the politicians have done exactly the opposite by participating in a "mafia syndicate" in collusion with the auto-finance-mafia.

The government has no fare policy

In response to our application under the RTI Act, the government has confirmed that it has no policy, frequency or formula for fare fixation or revision. One would be hard put to recall a fare hike in decades that has happened without flexing of muscles by the transport unions. And then the citizens, out of their ignorance of the complex dynamics and because they are directly affected by strikes, blame autorickshaw drivers, taxis and bus operators.

Bad fare structure in Delhi

An auto driver pays minimum Rs.300 per shift, i.e., Rs.30 per hour as rent to the owner of the autorickshaw. It has been demanded time and again of the government that the metering of auto and taxi fare should be distance as well as time based. In today's world where time is money, a driver must be guaranteed a minimum amount for every 5 minute which can be worked out by a combination of distance and time based metering. Instead, the government has prescribed a "waiting charge" which is payable on "per hour" basis. Imagine paying Rs.30 for 60 minutes waiting and then suddenly Rs.60 if you make the driver wait one second longer!

The drivers need to earn a minimum wage for 10 hours labour. When it falls below this threshold, they are forced to indulge in one trick or the other to get their fair share from the passengers anyway. So finally, the issue boils down to the need for a fair, reasonable and transparent fare structure. Give the auto drivers their due, or they will take it themselves by hook or by crook!

Rule of touts - driving licence, badge, fitness certificate, etc.

Rules and procedures are fairly simple for the issue of licences, badges, fitness certificates etc. However, the officers sitting at the counters have been specially trained to misbehave with auto drivers and turn them away on one pretext or the other. Transport offices are always teeming with touts and middlemen who act as conduits for the officers inside. Totally unnecessary documents are demanded of auto drivers. Even Sikh drivers have been accused of being Bangadeshis and asked to produce proof of their nationality! A driver who refuses or fails to hire a tout is made to run from post to pillar for months.

No organized funding is available to the autorickshaw sector

An auto driver pays as much as 60% interest on the loan taken to buy an autorickshaw. No bank or financial institution advances funding to this sector, leaving the ground vast open to loan sharks. This unavailability of organised funding is closely linked to the issue of auto-finance-mafia.

Maintenance cost of a CNG auto is outrageous

Maintenance cost of a petrol driven autorickshaw is under Rs.500, whereas it is Rs.4,000 for a CNG powered autorickshaw. Poor and outdated technology used by Bajaj Auto is responsible for this. Bajaj Auto had admitted as much before the Supreme Court in November 2004, and had given an undertaking to make improvements within 2 months. However, not much appears to have been done. With the result that the daily rental of an autorickshaw stands at a horrendous Rs.300 or more.

Corruption at Zonal Office of the Transport Department at Burari

Every autorickshaw and taxi has to visit Burari at least once every year in order to get a new certificate of fitness. This office is a den of corruption and is ruled by touts. Corrupt practices here add quite a lot to the transaction cost of an autorickshaw driver.

NOTE: A more exhuastive list of issues will be uploaded in September 2011 or later.