So the major USP in a share auto ride is the convenience of getting dropped wherever you want to get dropped. There is only one thumb rule here, if its in the route, get dropped.

Have you ever heard of a convenient bus stop location? NO. Leave alone bus stops, there are no buses in some routes. e.g. NVK academy – Kondapur. Share autos rule here. From Hitex arch, the NVK tennis academy is located some 2 kms away. I reach Hitex arch and am in a hurry to start playing tennis. I cant wait to be on the court and hitting that yellow ball in the corner. At this time, a Share-Auto comes as a savior. Share auto drops me right in front of the tennis academy lane. Share auto helps me do what I like. Share auto shares glory whenever i win matches. Share auto shares my gold medals.

Flash : Passenger speaking to the driver “Bhayya, can you please slow down the bus near Hyderabad gymkhana. Driver pretends not to hear what the passenger says. So the passenger repeats the same request a bit louder.  So the driver gives him a dirty look and starts shouting, “do you think this is your grandpa’s bus. This bus will stop only in bus stops. nowhere else.”

So in a share auto, I will just tell him “Bhayya, aage gulli ke paas rok do!” and bang it stops there. No funny business of grandpa and all. On the contrary, the bus drivers and conductors tend to forget that their salaries are paid from our taxes. So when i reach to work in time, share auto has a part in it. If I screw up in work, share auto has a part in it. If  I get paid a bonus, share auto has a share in it!

So at mid-nights, when there are no other ways to go home, only share autos take you home. Taking advantage of this, they take you home at their convenience. So there is a pan shop where the share auto driver stops and unwind for a bit. They get to chew their favorite ghutkas. Some buy smokes too and then they get back on. You could play snake on your phone till then.

Flash : “Bhayya there is traffic police checking happening near signal. So you have to get down before i take the right to avoid the traffic police”

So that means in even in a share auto there might come a day when you cant get dropped at the point of your convenience. They call it Karma with a capital K you see!

Check out the previous chapters in my Share auto diaries :

https://varunsword.com/2011/07/09/the-share-auto-diaries-chapter-1-non-connectivity/

–Varun Mannava Gowtham