To provide customer-friendly services to commuters, the city government has asked autorickshaw owners to install Global Positioning System within six months, which will record every kilometer traversed by the vehicle.

The government is also planning to set up call centres for the 55,000 odd three-wheelers in the national capital on the lines of those set up by Radio Cabs.

Making the announcement, Transport Minister Arvinder Singh Lovely said installation of GPS in autorickshaws is a step forward in providing good and customer-friendly services to the commuters.

"We have told the autorickshaw unions that GPS should be installed in the next six months in all vehicles. The government decided to give six month time to the autos because of the money they have to spend for its purchase and to install it," he said.

He rejected the demands for a hike in bus fares and said the government had substantially increased it in November 2009.

The transport department decided to install GPS in autorickshaws after a slew of complaints that they did not comply with fares displayed on their metres and harass passengers by asking more money to ferry them.

Lovely said once the metres are linked with GPS, every movement of the autos will be recorded and monitored at the control room, which will be set up by the government.

"Every kilometre traversed by the vehicle will be automatically recorded and from the control room it will be easy to find out where the autorickshaw is at a particular time," he said.

Lovely also warned auto owners that strict action will be taken against them if GPS is not installed after the six-month period, adding that their permits would be canceled.

Transport Commissioner R K Verma said the GPS is the only technology through which the autorickshaws can be reined.

Regarding the call centres, he said passengers can contact them through a toll-free number and book autos.

"Every autorickshaw owner will have to pay around Rs 1200-1500 to the government for the call centre services and GPS monitoring," he said.

The department has also started the process of installing GPS in all DTC and blueline buses too.