Autos in Bangalore

Citizen1 asks the auto driver- "M.G.Road hogtheera?"
Auto Driver - Grunts ... "Illa hogalla"
Scene repeats with citizen 2 asking - "Indira Nagar?"
Auto Driver 2 - Gives a wry smile and just keeps moving.

This is a very common situation in Bangalore. I am sure Bangaloreans would agree with me. And it frustrates one so much, especially when we are in a hurry and want to get to some place at a given time, instead of being able to just take an auto and go our way, we end up walking about 15 - 20 minutes until we come across an auto driver who deigns to take us to where we want to go. And how??? -- After a great amount of haggling, at a 1 and a half meter rate!!!! Was it worth all this effort?

Its much more easier and feasible to just take a bus and keep moving. Sometimes I wonder, why don't the autos have a board, just like buses, stating that this auto will only go to this particular place. We wouldnt then even bother stopping and asking them whether they would please take us here...

I am sure every city has something to say about their auto facilities!

So whose fault is this? The auto drivers, when asked for an explanation, come up with the following reasons:
1. One ways on that road.
2. Too much of traffic on that side.
3. We will not get a return fare, so pay us one and a half.

So where do we go from here? The auto drivers too have a point here. They lose out on their income because of not getting a return fare, because of having to take round about routes due to the huge number of one ways that have been implemented, and also, because of having to wait for ages due to the huge traffic jams that happen at peak hours.

Shouldn't we be doing something about this issue? The population in Bangalore is growing by the day, so the number of one ways too cannot be avoided...

Will it help if we have a metering system which runs on waiting? This system is there at present, and is used when we ask the auto to wait for a few minutes while we finish off our personal work and come back. However, if it could also be used while the traffic jam is holding the auto up, the auto drivers might not think twice to take us to where ever we want them to.

Does any one have any solutions? What else could be done to better this situation? Also, this might not just be in Bangalore.

Thoughts on protection of trees

The other day, I and a relative were having a discussion, and I mentioned the rapid cutting of trees in Bangalore, which was totally unacceptable to me. However, when he voiced his opinion on it, I learnt that there were people who actually approve the cutting down of trees. The arguement he offered was, if the traffic was really high, and the trees are growing in the center of the road, blocking the traffic, then the only option was to cut down the culprit. The roads would have been smaller in earlier years, and so they would have planted trees, not keeping in mind the fact that the roads might need to be widened as the days progress, and when they are, the trees might prove as a block for the ever increasing flow of traffic. Though, practically this arguement makes absolute sense, but do you still think this is a valid solution? What if trees had brains and could think and walk and talk like humans, and they were growing vastly in population? Would they start killing humans because humans had completely occupied their land? Is that acceptable to us? Don't we realise that trees are the ones who provide the comfortable shade in days of sweltering heat, and who house a whole lot of beautiful flowers which are so pleasing to ones eyes, and fruits which act as our food? I agree we need them to provide our basic furnishings etc., but shouldnt there be a way of ensuring that we help the growth of trees in some way or the other? There was a mention about planting one tree for every tree cut... but does anyone know if this really happens? Do we really need to advance so much in technology that we neglect the very own nature which has provided us with so much so unselfishly?