From next week, you will have to pay more for autorickshaw rides.
From next week, you will have to pay more for autorickshaw rides.
Buckling under the pressure of the union, the state government on Tuesday asked the city's regional transport offices to implement a fare hike for autorickshaws in the suburbs and satellite cities.
There will be no change in the minimum fare, but commuters will have to pay an additional 50 paise for every kilometre beyond 1.6 km in the suburbs.
For Thane and Navi Mumbai, as the autorickshaws run on petrol, the state government has granted an increase of Re1 in minimum fare and 50 paise for every subsequent kilometre. The fare hike will be implemented from October 10 midnight.
"Since we need time to print adequate tariff cards, we have kept a gap of four days to make the necessary arrangements," a transport official said.
The state government expedited the implementation of the fare hike — the proposal was cleared by the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority on September 29 — because union leader Sharad Rao had threatened an indefinite strike if the demands were not met, sources said.
On Monday, as auto drivers stayed off the roads and joined a protest rally at Bandra (East) to press for their demands, which included hike in fare and social security benefits such as gratuity and pension, Rao presented a list of demands to state transport commissioner VN More.
Rao had threatened that if the union's demands were not met in the subsequent two meetings, they will go on an indefinite strike from November 9.
The Sharad Rao-led auto union had demanded Rs19 as minimum fare and revision of the fare structure such that an auto driver earns a minimum Rs25,000 a month.
But, another official from the transport department tried to play down the pressure.
“We have not given them a hike as per their demands but only a minor one after considering the rise in the consumer price index in the last one year because of inflation. The consumer price index is a part of a few parameters which have been fixed by the Hakim Committee set up in 1997, to decide fares hikes for taxis. Using the same parameters for autorickshaws, we did our calculations and arrived upon our decision," he said.
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