Mumbai-Based CEO Says He Paid Rs 100 For 500 Metre Auto Ride In Bengaluru

Needless to say, travelling by autorickshaws in Bengaluru is an expensive affair. Many times, auto drivers in Bengaluru end up quoting exorbitant fares for short rides, upsetting commuters. In a similar instance, the CEO of a Mumbai-based company took to X, formerly Twitter, to share his experience of travelling in an auto, in Bengaluru. 

Mandar Natekar, co-founder and CEO of NeuralGarage, complained that auto drivers in the city don't charge fares by the meter. He further said that he had to shell out Rs 100 for a mere 500-meter ride in the city. 

He wrote, ''In this photo, you will see the most ornamental thing in Bengaluru. The great Auto Meter. So expensive that it never gets used. I just paid 100Rs for a 500 mtrs ride. To give perspective, in Mumbai 100Rs is the meter fare for approx 9 km.''

He also added a picture of the vehicle's meter and called this experience a "peak Bengaluru" moment.

See the tweet here:

Twitter users resonated with his tweet and shared similar experiences. Vijay Koshy, president, TVF, commented, ''It's practically the same for every city outside Mumbai. Chennai is notorious for its auto rides.''

Replying to him, Mr. Natekar said, ''It is ridiculous, to say the least, but seems like this highway robbery is not legit. No one bothers.''

A second user wrote ''Very few cities have auto-meter fare system. Mumbai and Palakkad are the only two cities I am aware of. Nothing can be done either.''

A third added, ''Mumbai is the only place in India, where rickshaws function properly on meter. The rest of India is all about loot.''

A fourth remarked, ''Count your blessings. Most of the time, they don't wish to go anywhere.''

Last year, the Karnataka government raised the metre fares to Rs 30 from Rs 25 for the first two kilometres and the base price per kilometre to Rs 15 from Rs 13.