the auto rickshaw

so how do people get around in india? well, there is always the pedestrian method, which people use fairly frequently. there is also the bicycle option, another popular method. if you have a little more money and are more of the independent sort, then a scooter seems to be the most popular option. the scooter is typically driven by a male (although honda did come out with a “scooty pept” version that comes in many colors, including pink and purple, to try to encourage the female market – now you just see lots of men driving pink scooters around town). finally, for private transportation, the car or SUV is the utmost in luxury, convenience, independence, and, of course, expense.

on the public transport side, you can hire a car that comes with a driver (this is perhaps the safest option if you only plan to be here a short time and don’t have the time to learn the indian way of driving). for long distances, the train is nice, albeit a bit slow. public buses go around town and between towns. i have yet to conquer the bus system, although i always find bus systems much more difficult to navigate than subway or train systems.

and, of course, then there is the ubiquitous auto rickshaw. a three-wheeled vehicle – basically a 2-stroke scooter with an open-air cab. they supposedly run on a meter system, but there are all sorts of permutations to the meter system. in mysore, the auto meter rate was 12 rupees (US $0.30) minimum, plus 6 rupees (US $0.15) per kilometer. that was before the transportation strike. gas prices went up, but meter rates stayed the same, so everyone went on strike for a day or so. now it’s up to 14 rupees base fare, plus 7 rupees per kilometer, but with gas up to 55 rupees per liter (close to $5 a gallon), it still seems a bit of a sour deal to me.

at night, the rates are 1-and-a-half times the meter, and other special cases allow the driver to quote a price at his discretion. this usually depends on traffic, rain, direction he was originally going, and, of course, how much he deems you to be desperate to go where you’re trying to go. generally, the goras (white foreigners) tend to seem the most desperate because they may be carrying a seemingly absurd load of luggage from traveling or bags from the market. so this tends to increase the first quoted price, which usually can come down a bit, but only the most seasoned hagglers will get the indian price. if the rickshaw-wallah (driver) is alone, you have few other options except walking away, and if he is among many other rickshaw-wallahs, they tend to band together to insist that the fare the first one told you is right. eventually someone defects, and you get a slightly better fare.

some rickshaw-wallahs trick out their autos with fancy seat covers, airbrushed declarations of their love (of a wife or a god) on the back, or even install speakers to play the latest indi-pop (watch the video).

[insert video - connection is too slow here to upload from here, will upload when i get home]

while the auto is an excellent way to travel around town, it’s not really suitable for long-distance travel. technically meant to carry more than 3 passengers, the auto has been known to carry entire classes of schoolboys or entire families (including grandma, grandpa, and perhaps auntie and uncle).

the auto also isn’t exactly the best for weatherproof travel. when you’re out and about and the raincloud bursts suddenly, the auto is exposed to both the rain coming down and the puddles splashing up. however, the auto definitely provides more shelter to its travelers than the scooter – people will stand under bridges and awnings to wait out the worst of a storm.