All auto drivers don't refuse rides, a few still ply by meter

Time of India

22-04-2025

Pune: Autorickshaw driver Kishor Salunke didn't flinch once when he found a laptop worth around Rs1 lakh a passenger left in his autorickshaw. He drove back to Pargenagar in Kondhwa, traced the laptop owner and returned it to him.
"It didn't belong to me. Had I kept it, I wouldn't be able to sleep properly. The best thing was to give it back to its rightful owner," Salunke said.
Auto driver Ifran Hussain Shaikh recently did the ditto. He returned a bag containing important documents, including the passport, of a passenger he had picked up from the airport. "I know well how important a passport is. Last year too, a passenger had left his iPhone in my autorickshaw. I returned it to him. I am not greedy or a thief," he said.
Amid several complaints of autorickshaw drivers fleecing people, refusing rides and being rude, a few still play by the books. They uphold their sincerity and integrity. According to these drivers, cheating customers is not their cup of tea. After Uber and Rapido gave its driver partners the option of plying by meter, such people would be commuters' "favourites".
Sagar Kumte from Kondhwa has been driving an autorickshaw for five years. "We get food on our table because of customers. As far as I recall, I haven't refused any passenger a ride, be it short or long. If there is a genuine problem, like I have to go home or have some work, I explain to customers the reason why I can't ferry him or her. I even try to get them an alternative autorickshaw," Kumte said.
Nilesh Lorrence John ferries passengers to and from Pune railway station. He recently returned a bag of a passenger he had dropped at Patrakar Bhawan.
"I saw the bag after I returned to my home in Hadapsar. I darted back to the pre-paid booth, from where I had picked him up. After some coordination, the bag was returned to him. He thanked me, saying his crucial medicines were in it. Such things make people like us happy. At Pune station, a majority of auto drivers fleece passengers and refuse to operate by the meter. I don't like it at all. Thus, I have joined the pre-paid system," John said.
Working professional Animesh Thakur from Lohegaon fondly recalled an incident from last year. "I was desperate to trace an old friend's place in the Pradhikaran area. I took an autorickshaw and the driver went out of his way to drop me there. He asked different people about the proper location of my friend's home as we rode. It took us an hour to spot it. Without his help, I couldn't have located my friend's house," Thakur said.
"During our way back, he told me a story about a woman he had once picked up from a nightclub late in the night. She was drunk and not in senses. He made it a point to safely drop her at her location in Koregaon Park. Such rickshaw drivers are hard to find nowadays," he said.
Pallavi Sinha from the NIBM Road area agreed. "Not all are bad apples. I have my music class each weekend, barely 1km from my place. Last week, my husband was not in the town and I needed an auto to go. I tried several applications but none accepted my ride as the distance was too short. I went out and asked an auto driver standing outside my building if he would go. He immediately agreed. When I asked him how much I had to pay, he turned the meter on and smiled. The next day too, he dropped me and didn't charge a penny extra. It was an unexpected experience," she said.