Transport dept to bring in 8,000 private autorickshaws

“A draft of this scheme has been prepared. The applicant should have the infrastructure needed for maintenance of the vehicles. The minimum fleet size to obtain a licence will be 500 three-wheeler scooter rickshaws (TSRs). This will be reduced to 250 TSRs if the licensee employs only female drivers. The licensee would have to purchase permits within nine months of commencement of operations. The applicants will need a control room with radio communication to manage its fleet by using GPS devices,” Transport commissioner Puneet K Goel said.

The new three-wheelers will charge the same fare as autorickshaws that ply in the city but a sub-charge will be levied for operation of control room,officials said.

For the 500-rickshaw fleet,100 TSRs would be purchased within three months,300 in six months and 500 in nine months. For the 250-rickshaw fleet,where all drivers will be women,50 will be purchased within 3 months,150 in six months and 250 in nine months

“These autos will ply in NCR in accordance with Reciprocal Common Transport Agreement between the governments of Delhi,Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. This will provide a lot of relief to commuters and ensure safety as 1,000 licences in 250-rickshaw groups have been reserved for all women auto drivers. Also,this will help break the auto mafia as these autorickshaws can only be bought in fleets. We want these auto fleets to be run like radio taxis,” a Transport official said.

The Transport department is also looking to set up a call centre which will inform commuters about the nearest auto.

The party applying for the licence must be a company registered under Companies Act or a society under Society Registration Act. An experience of three years in the transport business,preferably in operating in motor cabs is a must. “A total of 16 licences would be granted to eligible applicants. Of this,12 would be issued for a fleet size of 500 and four for those employing female drivers,” Puneet K Goel said. These autorickshaws would have NCR written on the body,in blue colour.

While licensees set up a command control centre to manage fleets and track vehicles,such centres will be in constant communication with operation command centre,Kashmere Gate,ISBT — managed by Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System on behalf of the Transport department. The applicant will also have to provide adequate parking space for its fleet.

“After scrutiny of applications and inspection of premises,a temporary licence will be issued in favour of the applicant for purchase of a minimum of 100 vehicles of the prescribed category along with a temporary licence valid for three months,” an official said.