Ride-hailing autos in Hyderabad sans valid number plates to face penalties

Auto-rickshaws parked near the LB Nagar Metro station in Hyderabad.
| Photo Credit: RAMAKRISHNA G

After a long day at work, a 25-year-old private employee stood outside the JBS Parade Ground metro station in Hyderabad on Saturday night, exhausted and eager to get home. It was late — around 10:30 p.m. — and the streets were quiet. In the distance, the dim glow of an auto’s headlights appeared. But as it pulled up, something did not seem right—there was no number plate.

Concerned, she asked the driver about it. In response, he casually pulled out a piece of cardboard with a number scrawled messily in blue ballpoint pen — a number that didn’t match the one on her ride-hailing app. “I got my auto 15 days ago,” he said. “I have a temporary registration number for now, but my actual number will be the one on the app.”

But then, how was the vehicle even registered on the app?

A five-minute conversation later, she had little choice but to cancel the ride, pay the cancellation fee, and start the process all over again.

This is a common problem in passengers eagerly looking for an auto in the city, only to find that the number plate doesn’t match the one displayed on their ride-hailing app. The stressful call follows, with auto drivers shouting out a different number and asking passengers to look for it. This not only creates confusion but also raises serious concerns about passenger safety and the overall experience on these platforms.

Some autos continue to operate without a number plate, but that is set to change as Hyderabad police roll out a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to penalise drivers using unregistered or mismatched plates.

Hyderabad Joint Commissioner of Police (Traffic) D. Joel Davis said that the SOP, consolidating MV Act regulations, is being finalised. “It will enforce designated auto stands, mandatory driver uniforms, registration verification through the My Auto is Safe database, integration with the T-Safe app, and strict action against irregular or missing number plates, overloading, and unauthorised piloting,” he said.

“A meeting will soon be held with auto drivers and ride-hailing platform management and they will be given 15 days to address irregularities, after which violators will face penalties,” the official added.

This comes at a time when a total of 46,874 autos were booked in IT corridor alone for various number plate violations, including fancy, erased, tampered, and irregular plates between January 2024 and February 2025, as per information shared by Cyberabad traffic police.

‘My Auto is Safe’

The My Auto is Safe initiative, launched by Cyberabad Traffic Police in 2019, will now be strictly enforced in Hyderabad. “Many drivers have avoided renewing their tags to side-step the ₹150-200 annual renewal fee, but it will now be mandatory,” Mr. Davis said.

Each auto will receive a QR-tag linked to a database with driver, owner, and vehicle details, ensuring better tracking and swift action against violations.

Rachakonda DCP (Road Safety) K. Manohar highlighted that while enforcement drives target missing and irregular number plates, mismatched plates often go unreported. He urged commuters to file complaints. “Ride-hailing platforms must step up their efforts by regularly verifying registered autos to eliminate any discrepancies,” he said.