A huge campus offers one a lot of places to explore, but this can also make travelling around the campus daily quite tiring. One might therefore look for alternative options to walking to make this travel easier for themselves. The autos, being one such option, have been a part of this campus for decades, almost always available to help the students reach their destination with ease. 

It has been generally observed that boys usually prefer walking or cycling to their destination, owing to the proximity of their hostels to all major campus buildings. Still, one might take an occasional auto ride while going out to nearby places outside the campus. Aware of this fact, autowallahs usually do not tend to wait around near the boys’ hostels. They might still park their autos nearby bhawans, such as SR or Shankar, which are slightly distant from other places on campus, but their driving frequency around boys’ hostels mostly increases only during exam time.

As for the girls, a fleet of autorickshaws is generally parked outside Meera Bhawan, as it is one of the more isolated bhawans on campus. Despite the ease of access, the autowallahs often wait until their vehicles are fully packed, causing the students to be late. They usually do not factor in the students’ urgency, as they want to maximise their earnings in a single trip. This leads to one reaching their destination later than they could have on foot.

The recent introduction of electric shuttles has made the students’ journeys somewhat easier. At a fixed rate of Rs. 15, one can zoom across campus and reach their destination in record time. With autos not allowed on campus beyond a certain point of time at night, this introduction has made travelling around at night more convenient. Furthermore, the larger seating capacity of the shuttles has also made it easier for multiple people to travel simultaneously, something the autos cannot offer. Although these new vehicles have disrupted the traditional use of autos, there is still a long way to go before they fully replace autos, as there are only two shuttles operational currently.

Although a Student’s Union-approved fare rate has been circulated across campus, the autowallahs do not adhere to it and charge a flat fee of Rs 20. One such autowallah clarified that they want to maximise their earnings per trip as they were the sole breadwinners of their families. He said that they owned their autos and, to maximise their profit, they often waited to fill their autos. He elaborated that if they adhered to the SU fee rate, they would incur a loss due to excess fuel consumption. He also added that the recently introduced electric shuttles were a subsidy of a larger corporation and could afford to take a single student on a trip, whereas they could not. 

To disrupt the ‘monopoly’ of the autowallahs, alternative options that are easily accessible and sustainable could be introduced. One example would be the Yulu bike system, which has been established in metropolitan cities and could be a great benefit on campus. A fleet of electric bikes would be parked in front of academic buildings and other frequently visited places on campus, such as C’Not, ANC, the library, and some of the more isolated bhawans, including Meera, Vyas, Ashok, and SR. A student could then borrow the bike from one of these stands and reach their destination. This alternative is eco-friendly and easy for personal use. 

After exploring these findings, it is evident that the autowallahs stay on campus while students come and go. It is their livelihood, and they try their best to provide for their families and themselves. Nonetheless, their system does not make travelling across campus any easier.