Autorickshaw drivers favour increase in fares

Autorickshaw drivers favour increase in fares

The Hindu

Demand Rs. 6 a kilometre and applying minimum fare to 1.6 kilometres

# Fare structure last revised in October 2002
# Cost of petrol and lubricants is the highest in Bangalore
# 15 LPG refuelling outlets inadequate for 26,000 autos in city

Bangalore: The autorickshaw fares with a minimum charge of Rs. 10 may be among the highest in the region, but autorickshaw drivers' unions have began a steady campaign for an increase in fares.

The unions have said that the cost of petrol and lubricants is the highest in Bangalore, compared with rates just across the border in Tamil Nadu. Along with the fuel price increase, the price of other necessities such tyres, tubes and spare parts has been going up steadily, they complain.

The existing fare structure is Rs. 10 for the first two kilometres and Rs. 5 a kilometre after that. Autorickshaw drivers are allowed the charge one-and-a -half times the fare or "half return" as it is commonly known, between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Working president of the CITU-affiliated Autorickshaw Drivers' Association H.G. Srinivasa Murthy says the fare structure needs to be increased to Rs. 6 a kilometre, and the minimum fare applicable to 1.6 km. The fare structure was last revised in October 2002, he points out.

The autorickshaw drivers are also finding it difficult to obtain LPG for refuelling, if they have invested in a gas conversion kit. The Government subsidy for gas kits does not always reach the drivers, they say. "Bangalore has just 15 LPG refuelling outlets and this is not adequate for the 26,000 autos already fitted with gas conversion kits," Mr. Murthy says. With another 40,000 autos likely to be fitted with gas kits by July 2006, the city will need at least 60 LPG refuelling outfits, according to the auto unions' estimate. Bangalore has close to 80,000 licensed autos on the roads.

The major unions are all in favour of electronic fare meters, which they feel benefit both the driver and the passenger; they have the advantage of being calibrated to show the exact fare applicable during nights. The unions are also for strict action against drivers who "doctor" the older type of meters.

The Transport Department has made it mandatory for all new autorickshaws applying for permits to be fitted with electronic meters.

The unions have expressed themselves against any move to curb the running of autorickshaws on routes along which the proposed metro rail may operate. Autorickshaws can always complement other types of public transport as in the case of city buses, they say.