"100 Rupees Sir " ... With greatest respect an auto driver is telling his charges . I looked back in respect at the great man who is telling his fare with "Sir " which is unique to chennai . Then i looked ahead at the destination . It was just one signal away and from the distance i could see the destination .
"Thank you Sir ". I replied back and walked in the midday sun thinking that this short distance of 5 minute brisk walk will add to my gym workout . Behind me i could hear tamil ? badwords /cursing/crying . Welcome to the world of the notorious chennai auto drivers who respectfully cheat the passengers in broad daylight . You may be asking me hey which world you are living man ... autodrivers always overcharge in india . I know that having travelled extensively in india . But chennai autowalas are the masters of this art and the undisputed leaders in cheating passengers of their hard earned money .
I am not an expert in haggling and i value peace of mind over money so i have my own unique way of handling them which may or may not be useful to you ...
1. Never catch a standing auto from an autostand . Always catch a running auto. A standing auto in an autostand always reminds me of going into the middle of a lion pride who is looking for an easy snack .
2. Never catch the first auto unless he tells the reasonable exact fare (which you should have an idea of course ) . If he tells double the fare walk away immediately .
3 Never haggle too much (my personal opinion ) . Dont get shocked . My point is if you haggle too much your entire journey will be filled with his tales of his ailing wife who is pregnant and this 10 rupees reduction due to haggling has made irreparable damage in his finances in taking care of his wife . I am not interested in a half an hour tale of someone elses wife .
4 . Dont be in a hurry to catch an auto . Spend a minute and skip from auto to auto and soon (most of the time ) you will find a decent man who tells the exact fare or at least fairly close to it . Of course as in everywhere there are honest people but in chennai autos they are the minority thats all
5 . Haggle in your search but not too much and always walk in opposite direction to autos so that they wont follow you and pester you..
And there is two other ways : book a cab (though its not an instant solution ) or take bus (i dont like it ) or walk in chennai sun (not a good way to tan ) .
If you save money by these tips dont forget to treat me .. my number is ............:)
"Thank you Sir ". I replied back and walked in the midday sun thinking that this short distance of 5 minute brisk walk will add to my gym workout . Behind me i could hear tamil ? badwords /cursing/crying . Welcome to the world of the notorious chennai auto drivers who respectfully cheat the passengers in broad daylight . You may be asking me hey which world you are living man ... autodrivers always overcharge in india . I know that having travelled extensively in india . But chennai autowalas are the masters of this art and the undisputed leaders in cheating passengers of their hard earned money .
I am not an expert in haggling and i value peace of mind over money so i have my own unique way of handling them which may or may not be useful to you ...
1. Never catch a standing auto from an autostand . Always catch a running auto. A standing auto in an autostand always reminds me of going into the middle of a lion pride who is looking for an easy snack .
2. Never catch the first auto unless he tells the reasonable exact fare (which you should have an idea of course ) . If he tells double the fare walk away immediately .
3 Never haggle too much (my personal opinion ) . Dont get shocked . My point is if you haggle too much your entire journey will be filled with his tales of his ailing wife who is pregnant and this 10 rupees reduction due to haggling has made irreparable damage in his finances in taking care of his wife . I am not interested in a half an hour tale of someone elses wife .
4 . Dont be in a hurry to catch an auto . Spend a minute and skip from auto to auto and soon (most of the time ) you will find a decent man who tells the exact fare or at least fairly close to it . Of course as in everywhere there are honest people but in chennai autos they are the minority thats all
5 . Haggle in your search but not too much and always walk in opposite direction to autos so that they wont follow you and pester you..
And there is two other ways : book a cab (though its not an instant solution ) or take bus (i dont like it ) or walk in chennai sun (not a good way to tan ) .
If you save money by these tips dont forget to treat me .. my number is ............:)
if you get local bus, why auto?
ReplyDeletei dont like the congestion in buses at peaktime ..
ReplyDeleteA very useful and good info, though we do know about the Chennai autos which are only slightly better than the Ekm ones.
ReplyDeletein chennai u hear tamil bad words or their imagined family problems . in kerala only malayalam and "english" bad words from autowallas ...(if he is a mammootty film fan )
ReplyDeletei thought these are de tricks known to me only....as often i find others not interested to adopt these strategies. Now find one person more intelligent and sensible. in chennai ,shared autos are also available. anyway dealing auto drivers requires more energy ,time, patience nd money.
ReplyDeletei got shocked recently as they have put meters and are using it by law . Recently law very strict
ReplyDelete