Chennai Auto Fares paid in May 2012

There are the fares I paid with a visible 'tourist' stamp & knowledge of broken tamil (enough to survive)...

For myself, wife & my 6yr old...
* Chennai Central (opp Rippon Bldg) to Rail Museum (ICF)
- TTDC Hotel staff suggested 200 rs
- Auto fellow asked for 150 rs & we agreed
- Was well mannered & helpful by asking for exact location
- Gave him a tip of 10 rs
- Museum staff later confirmed that 150 rs was reasonable fare!!!
- Total Distance seemed to be 8.5-9km
* New Avadi Rd (opp Rail Museum - ICF) to Anna Nagar Round Tana
- Museum staff suggested 40 rs
- Auto fellow asked me what I was willing to pay
- I asked him what he would like to charge
- He asked for 50 rs & we agreed (did not find many empty autos)
- Total distance seemed to be 2.5-3km
* Anna Nagar Round Tana to Chennai Central Rly Stn
- Auto fellow asked for 150 rs & we agreed (didn't see any autos)
- He stopped mid-way to fill up fuel & asked for 100 rs
- Paid him 50 rs at destination
- Total distance seemed to be 7-7.5km

For myself, wife, her brother & my 6yr old...
* Tambaram Rly Stn to Vandalur Zoo (Parking Entrance)
- Auto fellow asked for 150 rs
- I quoted 100 rs
- They came down to 130, then 120, but I stood my ground
- Then started walking towards bus stand & one guy agreed for 100
- On alighting, he asked for a bit more & I gave him 10 rs extra
- Total distance seemed to be 7-7.5km
* Chennai Central (near Hotel Howrah) to Govt Museum (Egmore)
- Auto fellow asked for 100 rs
- I asked another one - he quoted 60 rs
- I quoted 40 rs - he was shocked (as if I had cracked the code)
- He came down to 50 rs & we agreed
- Total distance seemed to be 2.5-3km
* Govt Museum (Egmore) to Fort Entrance (near Museum)
- Auto fellow asked the passenger count & asked for 150 rs
- I asked another one - he quoted 100 rs & we agreed
- He told us that autos are not allowed inside the fort & he'll drop us at the gate nearest to museum - and he did.
- Total distance seemed to be 5-5.5km

My overall assessment is that you should know the approx distance the overall route so that you can quote properly. Mostly they expect some bargaining, which is more likely if you are taking an auto from the stand (v/s stopping one passing by). Overall, they were never rude or unpleasant. I did not notice a tendency to cheat, by way of swapping notes or backing out on committed fare.

Perhaps this was a one-off experience, but I hope this helps future travelers deal with the Chennai Auto setup better...

Paramiyer

Useful info. Was the rail museum in Chennai worth the visit?

Since my kid is crazy about trains, definitely YES.
They had a wonderful collection of models inside the building. Also, the working model of a complete train line with 2 engines & realistic signals & platforms is amazing.
The toy train ride is not too bad, as it covers a quick view of all the stuff lying in the grounds & also passes thru a tunnel!
The overall quality of outdoor exhibits is a bit poorer (in contrast with say, Nagpur NG Rail Museum). Many of the exhibits look like they have just arrived, with no cleaning or documentation available, some are still locked...
For spending 2-3 hrs on a lazy weekend evening, I would surely recommend it.

Sounds like the ideal child. Thanks for the info. I need to start planning our next trip.

I didn't realise that there was an NG Museum at Nagpur. I need to do some research on that.

Nagpur NG Rail Museum was the first one we visited. My uncle works in Railways at Nagpur, yet he had never heard about it.
Here is the location in G-Maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll...05284&t=h&z=18 - I can claim to have added the locations in MapMaker
The guy running the show was very passionate about the whole initiative. They have placed a coach on the turn-table to make it into a revolving restaurant. They were yet to arrange a caterer for that about 2 yrs back... I think it is well worth about 2 hrs.