[Rant] Rapido, Uber, and Ola have officially ruined Mumbai’s auto rickshaw culture.

Remember when Mumbai was the one city in India where auto wallahs actually followed the meter without throwing a tantrum? That era is dying, and these ride-hailing apps are entirely to blame.
Lately, trying to flag an auto off the street in the suburbs (especially near stations, colleges, WEH, or Andheri) has turned into an absolute nightmare. You can stand on the road waving your hand for 20 minutes while dozens of empty autos zoom past you. Why? Because they are either glued to their phone screens waiting for a Rapido/Uber booking, or they flat-out refuse because they’re waiting for surge pricing.
The fare difference is daylight robbery:
A standard meter fare that should cost ₹35–₹50 easily shows up as ₹110–₹140 on Rapido or Uber Auto for the exact same 2 km stretch.
Because drivers have tasted that sweet app money (charging double or triple for zero extra effort), they look at a regular meter commuter like an insult. Half of them don’t even bother resetting the meter anymore—they straight up quote an inflated flat rate matching whatever surge price Uber is showing at that minute.
These apps were supposed to solve accessibility, but all they’ve done is create a vicious cycle:

1. Normal street hailing becomes impossible because autos only take app bookings.
2. Desperate commuters give up and open the app.
3. High app demand triggers an artificial surge.
4. Rickshaw drivers get validated in rejecting meter passengers.
   We used to take pride in our public transit and meter discipline compared to places like Bangalore or Delhi. Now we’re paying luxury cab rates just to sit in a rattling three-wheeler in peak traffic.
   Is anyone else noticing this getting drastically worse over the last few months, or is it just my area?

(Used AI to streamline my thoughts)