The scheme that will allegedly end all of Delhi’s traffic woes, odd-even, is one week old and in its second round, it seems to have reduced many things. According to reports, pollution in the national capital has reduced (though whether that’s because of odd-even remains questionable). What seems to be reducing faster than the pollution are the number of available cars on app-based cab services. This led to surge pricing, which has since been scrapped. As a domino effect, something else that has come down is the already-low number of Delhi autowallas who will go where you want and charge according to the meter reading.

Tanya Sharma, who works as a research associate with an NGO, said, “It is insulting, you know, the way they behave, simply refusing to go if you don’t agree to their hiked prices. Yesterday I had to walk all the way from Hauz Khas village to Green Park Metro station to get an auto. It wasn’t like there weren’t autos around, but they all asked for a bomb.”

Manik Pal, a resident of North Delhi who works in a publishing house, had a similar experience. “Yesterday, I had to go from Jama Masjid to Kashmiri Gate metro Station and nobody was ready to go for less than Rs 100,” he said. “The distance is not even worth a Rs. 50. Meter was obviously out of the question.”

However, for all of you like Tanya and Manik, who have been subject to the tyranny of autowallahs, there’s help at hand in the form of Delhi Transport Department’s helpline: 011-42400400.

This helpline works 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Best of all, the operators have the authority to take action.

In case you think you’re being fleeced by an autowallah, call the helpline number. The operator will inquire about your problem and then ask to speak to the autowallah. Usually that is enough to inspire a change of heart in the driver. However, if he still doesn’t concede, a formal complaint can be filed against him.

To find out what magic the helpline works, we spoke to one of the operators. “After filing a complaint, a notice is sent to the owner of the vehicle and he is given a time period of 15-20 days to respond, within which he has to give an explanation,” the operator told Newslaundry. Based on the offence and also the autowallah’s earlier record, he can be charged anywhere between Rs 200 to Rs 5,000. “The complainant is notified about the action taken,” the operator said. The notification is in the form of a text message, stating whatever action has been taken against the driver.

“Our helpline deals with all kinds of public transport systems, including auto, cabs and buses,” the operator assured us. When we asked about the odd-even effect, he said, “These days, because of the odd-even scheme, the number of complaints coming in has increased.”

So go ahead, hail an auto and show the driver who’s boss.