Prepaid autorickshaws are set to offer residents a convenient and comfy ride at a time private cabs are a rage in many cities across the country.

The proposed round-the clock pre-Diwali service aims at an end-October rollout but residents have to keep their fingers crossed. All India Road Transport Workers' Federation, which is designing the website for online booking, has not yet approached the Regional Transport Authority (RTO).

The news about prepaid autos, however, drew an ecstatic response from residents for whom the online booking was the best part. For night services, passengers would be charged an additional Rs 15-20.

Drishti Singh (35), a resident of Patliputra, excitedly said: "Booking prepaid autos online would be extremely convenient for residents, especially if they need to travel at night. On many occasions, we don't get any mode of transportation at night, putting us in trouble."

At present, there is no fixed destination or any particular phone number using which residents can avail auto services.

RTO officials said auto union members need to take permission to launch the online booking service for prepaid autos. "No such facility is available in the state capital now. The auto union members should at least inform us before starting any such service. We would seek clarifications from them," said RTA secretary Ishwar Chandra Sinha.

Auto union members, however, took a stand saying they were not doing anything illegal by starting the online booking service. "We are a registered organisation under the labour department. We have rights to work for the welfare of our members and the public," said Rajkumar Jha, the general secretary of Patna District Autorickshaw Drivers' Association.

With the 2014 Delhi Uber rape case in hindsight, Jha assured this correspondent that passengers' cellphone numbers would not be randomly provided to all auto drivers.

"The auto union would engage select auto drivers in the online booking service. The passenger has to provide us his/her number on website but it won't be seen by others on the website. We would provide the particular passenger's number only to the driver concerned."

Varuna Jaiswal, an AG Colony resident, was relieved to hear that the passengers' contact numbers would not be flashed on the website. She suggested: "It would be good if women passengers can book the services of women auto drivers online."

The auto union members, however, said women drivers would not work beyond their working hours for the online service. "The women drivers work from 6am to 6pm. They don't work at night, said Jha."

"The work on the website, which would be named after the All India Road Transport Workers' Federation, is in the final stage. Members of Patna District Autorickshaw Drivers' Association would do the booking-related work," explained Rajkumar Jha.

Elaborating on the booking method, he said: "Residents would have to provide their pick-up address and cellphone number on the website. The driver would be given the passenger's contact number for easily tracing the pick-up address. The driver would reach the destination within 20-25 minutes of the booking. The passenger can either pay online by credit/debit card or hand over the fare to the driver on reaching the destination. The mobile numbers of Patna District Autorickshaw Drivers' Association members on the website can be contacted in case of emergency."

"At present, prepaid autos have a receipt system. Both the driver and the passenger are provided with a receipt each by the prepaid booth. The passenger's receipt bear numbers of auto union members for emergency. The driver gets his fare only when he submits his receipt (signed by the customer at the final destination) at the prepaid booths. Passengers can cancel a booking and get the fare refunded to their accounts if the fare is paid through a credit/debit card," Jha said.

Women drive only seven of the 500 prepaid autos on Patna roads. They follow the RTO-approved rate chart. A ride from Danapur station from Patna Junction costs Rs 220, while another to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Patna, costs Rs 80.