Round the clock prepaid auto booth back at Charbagh railway station
The booth ensures the allotment of autos to the passengers at reasonable rates
LUCKNOW: Passengers deboarding at Charbagh Railway Station can now hope to book autos at a reasonable fare as the Government Railway Police (GRP) has restarted the prepaid auto booth.
Saumitra Yadav, superintendent of police, Government Railway Police (GRP) Lucknow said, “The aim is to ensure safety of train passengers who fall prey to touts and criminal-minded people. It will also be ensured that passengers are charged reasonable fares.”
Under the project that became functional from Friday, the GRP has roped in around 300 auto rickshaw drivers who would be deputed at the station round-theclock. “We have roped in around 300 auto drivers after getting their personal details verified. All these auto drivers have a clean background,” he said. Besides, the GRP has also got the fare list approved by the Regional Transport Office (RTO), which ensures that a reasonable fare is charged from the passengers.
As per the RTO fare list, the maximum fare is ₹201 from the station to Bakshi Ka Talab, covering a distance of 22km.
The minimum fare is ₹14 to Mawaiyya located 1.5km from the station. The fare to Gomti Nagar is ₹101 whereas that to reach BBD College is ₹174. Going to the IIM campus will cost ₹182, Munshipulia ₹101, Mahanagar ₹69, Medical College Rs 60 and Bada Imambada ₹69. The GRP personnel also assured that the fare had been kept bare minimum.
However, it’s not for the first time that the prepaid auto booth project is being launched.
Initially, the project was launched in 2014 but it failed to meet the purpose.
Commuters blamed the GRP for its failure to make auto drivers follow the system. The booth ensures the allotment of autos to the passengers.
It issues a slip with name of the auto driver, vehicle number and total number of luggage items. The slip also contains the total fare that auto drivers are supposed to charge.
But there were complaints from passengers that auto rickshaw drivers often forced the customers to pay more.