“About 75% of the autorickshaw meters in the city are tampered,” said an autorickshaw driver in a meeting of autorickshaw owners and drivers’ associations with deputy commissioner (Bangalore Urban) MK Ayyappa and other officials on Thursday.
“This is because our earnings are not enough to meet our daily expenses. If the issue is not solved, auto drivers will be forced to commit suicide like farmers,” said AST Arasu, general secretary, the Bangalore Auto Drivers’ Union. The union demanded that the minimum fare be hiked from Rs14 to Rs20 and the per km tariff from Rs7 to Rs10.
The review committee, which looked into the matter, did not agree with the union leaders’ demands. “It is not possible to agree with the unions’ demands. We are proposing to hike the minimum auto charge to Rs16 and per km tariff to Rs8. If the minimum fare is increased to Rs20, it will adversely affect auto drivers’ business as people may prefer to travel by bus,” said Ayyappa. A decision in this regard will be announced on Friday.
DCP traffic (east division) BA Muthanna and RTO officials also participated in the meeting. Ayyappa said the committee had revised the rates after considering about 19 parameters. “Many union members disagreed with a few aspects. I will discuss them with officials and submit a final report on Friday,” Ayyappa said.
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