Which city has the worst autorickshaw drivers?

indiamike

I think Vizag was the worst. The drivers would agree to a fair and then take you to your destination then when you got there they would complain that it was to far and not enough money. Happened a few times there and each time I was like 'tough you said 20 rupees you get 20 rupees' and they would all cry and make a big scene. I spoke to other residents in Vizag and they also experienced the same.

I call them the 'cry baby cabbies'.

abracax

Hyderabad/Secunderbad - guilty of the same nonsense Mike mentions for Vizag wallahs, plus poor maintenance of vehicles, bad attitude, crummy driving and the insistence of having a second dickhead riding alongside the driver with the sole intent of trying to wheedle extra cash out of the passenger. Only place where I've seen a rickshaw wallah actually tip off a monument guard regarding a tourist carrying a camera. It was so bad I started using cabs and buses instead.

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PeakXV

One of my first auto rides was in Chandigarh and I heard this strange clanking sound as we started off .... thought it may be just a slight mechanical problem but as we left the road and up onto the lawn - then proceding to do a half wheelie along the curb - suddenly realized that the clanking was three empties of Knock out rolling about the rickshaw floor.

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Don't go to India ~ Pre-trip Warnings & Misconceptions?

crvlvr

I have a similar experince in almost every city, especially when goign to a residential area.

Years ago, Chennai used to have the worst autos and Bangalore the best. It sounds like Chennai has not improved much. Auto's used to be the best feature of bangalore. Not any more. The city has exploded geographically and is being navigated by auto drivers who are recent transplants to the city, and don't know where they are going.

envisage

Chennai has one of the worst drivers, they cheat people, they take everyone for a ride literally......and they have very bad road sense and they dont respect other people on the road...

This is a first hand experience since i live in Chennai for the past 3-4 years...

KatyQueen

I don't know about *worst*, but Goa and Delhi definitely tie for my two most entertaining rickshaw experiences:

Delhi: Our driver had a "walking stick" in the front with him, so if someone didn't move when he honked (including a fruit stand!) he'd get out, pretend to hobble a bit with the stick and then whack the hell out of whoever was in his way.

Goa: Kind of a cute story actually, my friend and I took a rickshaw from Colva to our resort in Varca after dark and when we got there our OBVIOUSLY hammered driver(who was still drinking bacardi whilst driving) told us that he didn't want us to pay him at all, as long as we promised to pray that his mother would let him marry his girlfriend. Apperently he was Hindu and she was Christian so his mother wouldn't allow them to get married. The funny thing was we'd spent a good 15 minutes bargaining with him for the price of the rickshaw ride beforehand!

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In the parlour

Cute story!

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abracax

I guess to be fair I should mention that the best rickshaw drivers in India I have encountered are in Delhi and Mysore, with Mysore wallahs coming out on top in the local knowledge department - although it is a fairly small town. The abs best taxi/minibus/rickshaw wallahs I have encountered were in Sri Lanka. For example I had a couple of jokers ride me in a rick from Colombo to Hikkaduwa for half the one way fare because they were heading to Galle for a family reunion.

edwardseco

The best and the worst, often in the same city. In Hyderabad I met a young autovalla that took me to see the little known antiquities of the city. Its a chore even with the detailed knowledge I had. Finally came to a guarded company compound and the ruins are inside. Entry refused, he tells me with a shake of the head to get back in, drives away and U turns back inside. With guards with lathis chasing after us he zips over to the ruins, I get a moment to step out and appreciate and we continue around the complex with our retinue out the exit. Grand fellow and we laughed famously..

lotus blossom

on two occassions in delhi two different wallahs demanded more money from me after we reached my destination. when i spoke with a lot more muster than usual, and told them that they were creating bad karma for themselves, they seemed to back down. i never budge once a deal has been struck.

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vir

Do you reply with what you think of him?

aradama

Definitely Agra!

sudheer poppa

Can one of the mods or OP modify this thread to make it a Poll.. I am sure many people who are not bothering to type in, do have a thought which can be captured by a poll and helps new visitors as well.

So far it is interesting to see most of the Locals feeling chennai is the worst and Visitors feeling Delhi is the worst!

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concoran

It's a hard question to answer since you should have visited all the above cities and have actually used autos everywhere.
I've been to Bangalore, Chennai and Bombay. I find Bangalore worst. Chennai drivers are worse, in that, if you are an outsider you get screwed. But if you are resident, you probably won't. But in Bangalore, everybody gets screwed. In Blr, they also acts sort of mob like, in that, if you fight with your rickshawallah, other drivers join too - even if it were not your fault

jivan

well same here but if a resident then no issues. Of course if u have the meter card then its respected but not in one particular place (Kpk) there are issues. Of course the place is surrounded by foreigners so that makes the matters worse.