Seen as errant, cheats and rude towards clients, with defective meters, rickshaw drivers in New Delhi launch a sympathy and honesty campaign which they have to give up right away to avoid going hungry. They give their reasons.

New Delhi (AsiaNews/Agencies) – In New Delhi more than 55,000 rickshaws buzz around like kamikaze, disobeying traffic rules, randomly refusing to take fares and ripping passengers off whenever they can. Residents hate them so that drivers launched a sympathy campaign to improve their image, only to suspend it right away in order not to go hungry.

The motorised versions of the cycle rickshaws of old are essential to the city’s transportation system. Nyaya Bhoomi, a non-governmental agency, which focuses on improvements in the city's public services and public relations, told Time that rickshaw drivers “are seen as the most corrupt and crooked lot in Delhi.”

That may be why, last November, Delhi's rickshaw drivers decided to do something about their image with the agency’s assistance.

They launched a campaign that promised a new, improved attitude. With “We want to build a new relationship of trust” as a slogan some dozens of drivers pledged to follow the straight and narrow, sticking another slogan—“I am proud to be an honest driver and please pardon me for my past mistakes”—onto the rear of their auto rickshaws.

It didn't last long. Within a few weeks drivers had given up. The few dozen honest drivers at the lead of the campaign reported that honesty didn't pay enough to feed their families.

Stung by their defeat, they launched a new campaign, which essentially explained why they have to cheat and lie. “How can we be honest?” a new sign on rickshaws read, before listing a series of reasons for their bad behaviour, ranging from low fares (lower than in other cities) to the price of natural gas, which the city has forced drivers to use, and which has gone up more than 70 per cent in the past year.

NyayaBhoomi's website reports that “most auto drivers live in slums or resettlement colonies. Their children are forced into child labour. Thousands of auto drivers are forced to depend upon rented auto rickshaws for their livelihood in spite of having spent 30 years or more in the trade.”

“Why should we try to be nice when we are paid nothing?” said auto driver Sunil Kumar, who makes less than US$ 100 a month and who can’t afford to get sick or go on strike.

According to the Hindustan Times there are currently more than 71,000 complaints pending against "errant auto drivers", more than the total number of auto rickshaws in all of Delhi.

Last year authorities inspected fewer than 5,000 autos for faulty meters, just under half of which proved defective.

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