There are few things that Delhi is extremely well known for, such as its food, its culture, its history and oh, of course, its autowallahs.
I don’t think I need to give an introductory para on what kind of problems we or at least those who use public transport, experience when we want to get to a place, on time, and these autowallahs just become the biggest nuisance ever.
With excuses like meter not working, ‘wo jagah nai pata’, ‘wahan savari nai milegi’, that place is too remote, and the most common one these days ‘traffic bohot zyada hai’ one is ready to tear their hair out.
And it is just so frustrating, that for some of the most stupid and insipid reasons the autowallahs just outright refuse to take a paying customer?!
I mean they would be more than happy to just take an empty auto around on the streets, burning expensive fuel, but would not take a customer for the right price.
But worry not my friends, for I am here, and with me, I bring some precious hacks that I have found have worked extremely well for me in the past.
So without further adieu, I present the 5 hacks or tricks to bargain with autowallahs and get to go where you want to go:
1. Take The Name Of A Popular Place
This usually works for me almost every single time. What you can do is when telling the auto driver where you have to go, instead of saying the name of a locality or the house address, say the name of a mall or well-known landmark around there.
Auto drivers would more readily agree to go to a popular place instead of a remote colony or house.
2. Take Away Rs. 10 From The Original Price
When you have an auto stopped and the driver is saying asinine things like meter not working or saying a price that you know is not correct, then tell him that you know the original price and tell him the price by taking away maximum Rs 10 out of it.
Don’t go too overboard and take away Rs. 20 or something. Just stick to 10 and they will then bring the price down to the actual original price.
For e.g. you know that the price from A to B is Rs. 50, but the autowallah is asking for 70 then just say that the actual price is really 40 rupees. The driver will bring down the price instantly.
3. Or Add Rs 10 And Make A Big Show Of It:
If the above trick does not work then just add Rs. 10 to the original price and tell the autowallah that see, I am adding 10 Rs.
The more of a big deal you make out of it, the more agreeable will the autowallah get to finally take you to your destination.
If he still insists on a higher price rate, then just make him realize how petty he is being by asking for 10 more rupees. And that ’10 rupees mein kya rakha hai bhayia!’
4. Use An Emergency As An Excuse:
Alright, this one might not always work, especially if the auto driver is kind of an asshole, but if you manage to give a good enough performance, they might just say yes.
So basically you either pretend you have some kind of emergency or you yourself are sick, both of them, probability of success depends on the autowallah only but in my case, it has worked.
Of course, I was usually actually sick on those few events, but even still, worth a shot.
5. Pay What You Want To:
Disclaimer: use at own risk.
Ok, so I myself have never done this, but a friend has, and so this one is coming through them. Of course, you can just keep it as an end recourse and use only when absolutely needed.
But if the auto driver is being extremely difficult then accept whatever price he is asking for, but when it is time to actually pay then just keep the exact change ready in your hand, put it on the seat and run.
So that was it. Hope you all have an easier time finding an getting an auto now.
Image Credits: Google Images
Other Recommendations:
http://edtimes.in/2016/07/6-habits-autowalas-in-delhi-should-definitely-change/
http://edtimes.in/2015/04/uberauto-experience-we-lived-it/
