A grievance redressal system is in place for people to complain to the Regional Transport Office (RTO) against errant drivers of cabs,autorickshaw or buses but citizens and activists say more needs to be done to make it more useful as a deterrent. Erring drivers,mostly of autorickshaws,are not facing strict punishment and thats the reason for their I-dont-care attitude when passengers threaten to call up RTO complaint lines,they say. Another problem they face is helplines and complaint numbers remaining open only during office hours in the day leaving many who want to complain in the evening or night in the lurch. Officials at the transport office say there is an elaborate complaint system in place and a separate department to take up each complaint,but there is not enough staff to track errant drivers. Many citizens said that autorickshaw drivers often seemed least bothered when threatened that a complaint would be registered against them. Autorickshaw drivers feel nobody will take strict action on them. If we threaten to complain to the police or the RTO,they seem to be not too bothered. The numbers to register complaints are also not publicised widely. The numbers are functional only during office hours. It is mostly in the evening hours that we face the problem of overcharging by autorickshaws or their refusal to take us on certain routes, Arundhati Patil,a resident of Shukrawar Peth,said. She said complaint numbers need to be displayed behind the drivers seat. When the arrogant attitude of drivers was conveyed to Arun Yeola,RTO,Pune,he said it was not true that they did not take complaints seriously We get at least 40-60 complaints a day including calls on our toll-free numbers and landlines. Many complaints are made through email. As most records are digitised,the registration number of any errant driver is immediately marked and processing of any further official documents of the said number is held in abeyance until the earlier charges are cleared. In most cases,a minimum of Rs 300-500 is imposed as fine if the complaint is found genuine, he said. When the matter of numbers not being active was brought to his notice,he said,This is a problem were trying to work out and we hope to resolve it soon. As of now,we encourage people to call even the next day to register their complaint. But many a time,people call with vague complaints without proper autorickshaw or cab or bus number. In such a case were unable to take action until we can identify the culprits. Sometimes complainants dont leave contact details,so were unable to reach them later for verification and have to let off errant persons. Anyone wanting to complain against errant autorickshaws can do so on RTO telephone numbers (26058090,26058282) or by sending an email at mh12@mahatranscom.com. A postcard with the complaint can also be sent to the RTO. Some officials claimed that a mobile number is active to register complaints via SMS. When The Indian Express called the number,it was found switched off. It also came to light that the mobile number had not been in use for the last few months. Besides one can lodge a complaint only from 10.30 am to 5.30 pm.
