Auto Rickshaw fares to be revised

BENGALURU: The Road Transport Authority (RTA) has been considering the revising of fares following the representations from auto drivers.

Currently, the minimum auto fare for the first 1.9 km is Rs 25 and for every additional km, it’s Rs 13. Representatives of several auto drivers’ unions have recently asked the RTA to increase the minimum fare to Rs 30 and Rs 15 for every subsequent km.

Auto fares have not been revised since the year 2013 and the drivers ponder that the LPG rates, daily expenses, maintenance cost and other expenses have increased over the years. “The fare revision is inevitable, there’s been a drastic increase in the prices of LPG and spare parts but there has been no hike since 2013,” said C Sampath, the general secretary, of Adarsh Auto Rickshaw Taxi Drivers’ Union (AATDU).

Shobha M, the deputy commissioner for transport, has said that they have received representations from auto drivers’ unions. “We are studying them. We have not finalized the fares yet; RTA will take a decision.”

However, many commuters complain that auto drivers rarely follow fares that have been fixed by the government. “They are increasingly reluctant to ply by government-fixed fare since there’s no enforcement. Most drivers demand a minimum fare of Rs 50 or an additional Rs 20. The figures is doubled or tripled during night,” said Sabita S, a regular passenger in Koramangala.

BV Raghavendra of ARDU said that the move to add more autos will only increase congestion and deepen the crisis within the sector. As, C Sampath, the general secretary, AATDU, said that there is a need to issue fresh permits since the BBMP limits have expanded. “In fact, many are selling permits in the black market for about Rs 45,000 but one will get a new one from the department for Rs 500.”

The government had decided to issue permits for 25,000 autos which will be comprised of LPG and CNG kits, and 5,000 e rickshaws within five years. In the first phase, the department will be issuing 10,000 permits.