Cuttack, Oct. 2: Rajesh Mohapatra, 24, today appeared happy over the pre-paid autorickshaw system that was launched from Cuttack railway station today.

“Today, it was a pleasant experience for me as I was the first passenger to avail the pre-paid autorickshaw. Earlier, I used to face a lot of problems to get a means of transportation from the railway station as the autorickshaws used to charge irrationally, especially at nights,” said Mohapatra.

“The pre-paid autorickshaw system introduced here today is the first-of-its-kind in the state. We hope it will be of great help to passengers,” said police commissioner B.K. Sharma.

Earlier, Orissa High Court had constituted a committee headed by the city police commissioner for examining the proposal submitted by a sub-committee for introduction of the prepaid autorickshaw system in the city.

City police have introduced the service with the assistance of East Coast Railway. Two prepaid autorickshaw counters have been set up in front of the gates No. 1 and 2 of the railway station. Around 150 autorickshaws ferrying passengers from the railway station have been engaged in the prepaid service.

The city has been divided into 22 zones, besides a Ring Zone comprising a radius of two kilometres covering areas such as OMP Square, College Square, Ranihat and Jobra.

A passenger will initially be charged Rs 30 for travelling up to a distance of two kilometres. The fare will subsequently increase according to distance. The fare has been fixed at Rs 55 for a distance of 10km up to Chauliaganj and Kalyannagar areas from the railway station. Similarly, the fares have been fixed at Rs 70 for Madhupatna, Khapuria and Industrial Estate, Rs 100 for areas at CDA sectors 6, 7, 8 and 9 and Rs 120 for CDA sectors 10, 11, 12 and 13.

A fare of Rs 65 will be charged for covering a distance of 12km up to Buxi Bazar, Bepari Sahi, and Pension Lane areas, while Rs 80 has been fixed as fare for travelling up to Seikh Bazaar and high court areas.

“All the drivers have been issued identity cards and uniforms for the pre-paid autorickshaw system. We hope it will bring in more discipline among the drivers,” said Bijay Kumar Barik, secretary of Cuttack Railway Station Autorickshaw Association.

“We are happy that the service has been launched. We are also planning to introduce the service in other parts of the city and in Bhubaneswar,” said East Coast Railway’s divisional manager Sanjiv Garg.