[sustran] Re: Attempts to cap auto rickshaw numbers an exercise in social exclusion, especially of women

[Simon Bishop]

Dear Madhav, Paul, and Everyone,

Any attempt to 'cap' the number of auto rickshaws in a city with inadequate public transport, rising urban sprawl and trip distances, hostile conditions to pedestrians and cyclists should be fiercely resisted.  

Apart from the usual argument that rationing one mode of public transport will increase congestion because more people will buy cars and motorcycles instead all things being equal.

1.	WOMEN

If you look at data for the gender- wise split in Delhi for transport you will see that women are more than TWICE as dependent upon auto (and even more cycle) rickshaws.  According to a household survey conducted in the city in 2008, women take 48.5% of auto trips and 56.2% of cycle rickshaw trips.  You have to double this to understand their true dependency on these modes as only 31% of trips in the city, according to the survey, are taken by women.  According to women I have asked about their liking for autos and cycle rickshaws, they feel safer in them because they can jump out pretty fast and make a quick gettaway if necessary (another reason why central locking car taxis are not always the answer).

2.	DE-LEGITIMIZING A LEGITIMATE MEANS OF MAKING A LIVING

The reason why autos have a bad name in Delhi is precisely because of the cap.  The rickshaw shortage allows a small group of financiers to dominate the white market where rickshaws and their permits sell for double the price (nearly 500,000 rupees instead of 250,000 rupees).  

This artificial cap and extortionate scarcity premium forces decent, hardworking drivers to shell out extra money to get the permit.  On the other hand, for those who work in the black market they must resort to pay offs here and there or face impounding of the vehicle and the loss of the means of making a livelihood, debt and despair.  

For the passenger of course, she (as we have established it is normally 'she') must shell out extra to help the driver pay off the 'permit scarcity tax'.

The driver will claw back the money using a number of ingenious ways, all stressful and hard going for the (normally) female user and never using the meter whose price is not updated regularly anyway, perhaps to give the customer the illusion that you can still hire a man's labor for less than 5 rupees for driving a kilometer in heavy traffic.  

In a farce reminiscent of a Chaucerian Tale of trickery and often worthy of anecdote around the family dinner table at the end of a hard day's toil, but no less lamentable and unnecessary nonetheless, the driver will:

a)	Drive as fast as possible in order to make enough to pay off the extortionate fee of the financier, often involving removing or tampering with the speed limiter to do so at a cost to the safety of himself and the occupants.

b)	Take drugs to enable him to work the hours necessary to pay back the financier, again at cost to himself and his passengers.

c)	Not take the fare as it is too low, driving off and leaving you stranded

d)	Exaggerate the true distance/time involved in the trip (difficult if you don't 	know it yourself)

e)	Hang out around places with a high preponderance of foreign tourists who can be 	persuaded to part with extra rupees since they don't know the price and "It's 	cheaper than a cab in London/New York/Rome, etc after all".

f)	'Bring on the night' - I like this last one as it challenges the cosmic order 	to call for a night fare before night time begins.    


RESULT LOSERS = *WOMEN (MAINLY) AND THOSE NOT RICH ENOUGH TO AFFORD A CAR
	          *MEN (POOR) WHO DRIVE THE RICKSHAWS AT AN EXTORTIONATE FEE
		    *ENVIRONMENT - ANOTHER GOOD REASON TO GET A CAR ASAP

	WINNERS = FINANCIERS, POLICE,	MEDIA, POLITICIANS (can make popular media 			    statements about an 'autocracy' and how they are going to 'sort it out' 		    using a host of more ineffectual, non-sensical punitive measures) 

In my view the role of a regulator and police should be to stick to looking after the public costs (safety, environment).  Is that right or am I missing something? 

Simon
 

-----Original Message-----
From: sustran-discuss-bounces+simon.bishop=dimts.in at list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+simon.bishop=dimts.in at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Madhav Badami, Prof.
Sent: Friday, April 09, 2010 9:26 AM
To: Paul Barter; sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org
Subject: [sustran] Re: Taxi modes better regulation? (question prompted by Delhi Auto-Rickshaw strike)

Paul et al,

The auto-rickshaw sector does need to be regulated, for the sake of the poor operators as well as the passengers, as well as the public at large, but the motivation for banning them or limiting their numbers, is suspect -- I fear it has more to do with sprucing up the city in preparation for the Commonwealth circus that's shortly coming to town (and that autorickshaws and cycle-rickshaws don't quite fit the image that the authorities want to project to foreign visitors) than any real concern about their negative impacts in terms of, for example, congestion or air pollution (and after all, in Delhi, they all run on CNG, supposedly a "clean" fuel). See the Guardian story (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/mar/18/delhi-plans-ban-autorickshaws), in which the Chief Minister's views are described as follows:

"Dikshit has repeatedly said that making Delhi a world-class city is a key aim. The city has already tried to limit the number of cycle rickshaws. But Delhi's high court ruled last month that capping their numbers was illegal.

The defenders of the motorised versions point out that, as the vehicles run on compressed natural gas, their contribution to air pollution in the city is minimal compared with cars. Others argue that rickshaws fulfil an essential function in ferrying people short distances to metro stations or bus stops.

Dikshit has another Delhi icon in her sights: the famous brusqueness of the capital's inhabitants. She hopes to bring about a major "cultural change" before Delhi hosts the Commonwealth games this autumn.

"We have to do some things that are extremely basic like keeping the city clean, giving our citizens the culture of politeness and sharing and caring for each other, so that the world goes back with an impression that they have been to a truly civilized city," she said." (End of quote)

By the way, the urban poor in Delhi are sadly also paying a very high price, all in the interests of "the world go(ing) back with an impression that they have been to a truly civilized city":

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?262987

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/hc-slams-mcd-for-razing-slums-in-games-runup/572302/

http://www.thesamosa.co.uk/index.php/news-and-features/politics-and-policy/295-in-the-name-of-the-games.html

Madhav

************************************************************************

"As for the future, your task is not to foresee, but to enable it." -- Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Madhav G. Badami, PhD
School of Urban Planning and McGill School of Environment
Associate Director of Graduate Affairs, McGill School of Environment
McGill University

Macdonald-Harrington Building
815 Sherbrooke Street West
Montreal, QC, H3A 2K6, Canada

Phone: 514-398-3183 (Work)
Fax: 514-398-8376; 514-398-1643
URLs: www.mcgill.ca/urbanplanning
www.mcgill.ca/mse
e-mail: madhav.badami at mcgill.ca

________________________________________
From: sustran-discuss-bounces+madhav.g.badami=mcgill.ca at list.jca.apc.org [sustran-discuss-bounces+madhav.g.badami=mcgill.ca at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Paul Barter [paulbarter at nus.edu.sg]
Sent: 08 April 2010 20:20
To: sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org
Subject: [sustran] Taxi modes better regulation? (question prompted by Delhi    Auto-Rickshaw strike)

Delhi's auto-rickshaws have been out on strike this week and there has been some very informative coverage.
    http://thecityfix.com/a-day-without-auto-rickshaws-inconvenience-intimidation-and-corruption/
    http://kafila.org/2010/04/02/the-truth-behind-the-strike/
    http://www.indianexpress.com/news/autometers-for-the-people/594330/4

These items highlight the fact that the auto-rickshaw industry in Delhi is dominated by a 'financier mafia', while drivers remain extremely poor and powerless. The unions are also dominated by the financiers.  The call to ban auto-rickshaws by Delhi's Chief Minister is not helpful perhaps. But something clearly needs to change. These insights have been highlighted by work by Simon Harding, who is interning with Delhi's AMAN Trust.

QUESTION: Does anyone know how Delhi could do better? What reformed regulatory framework for auto-rickshaws in Delhi could do better for drivers, for customers and for the city as a whole?

This relates to the wider question of how to regulate/organise taxi-like modes (including conventional taxis) to make them more part of the solution.  Here on sustran-discuss a few weeks back there was discussion of their potential and role as 'shared cars' that offer mobility without locking people into vehicle ownership (under the theme 'they are called taxis'). But taxi-like modes will not be viewed positively in many places until they actually work better.

Paul

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