Electronic meters being planned for cabs, autos

While autorickshaw and taxi unions are opposing the implementation of the electronic meters in the city and suburbs, the transport department is keen on going ahead with the decision. Makers are being recruited to meet the demand of nearly seven lakh such meters and a plan is being chalked out for the implementation.

“We are not going to tolerate the resistance, as the government has been receiving many complaints against the taxi and auto drivers. I experienced their high-handedness a couple of days ago. I was charged Rs30 for a kilometre from Breach Candy to Napean Sea Road,” said Dharmaraobaba Atram, Minister of State for Transport.

The minister said he has asked the transport department to chalk out the plan to go about the implementation. “We require 5.5 lakh meters for autos and 1.22 lakh for taxis in the state. Five companies, with the capacity to manufacture 5,000 meters per annum, have been appointed and 7 more are under consideration. We will be in a position to avail of 60,000 meters annually. After Mumbai, suburbs and Thane, we will move to other cities like Pune, Aurangabad, Nashik and Ahmednagar followed by district and tehsil levels,” he added.

Transport commissioner Shyamsunder Shinde said in the next three years all taxis will have electronic meters. “New taxis are bound to go for electronic meters,” he said.

Atram said the meter costs Rs5,000 which is to be borne by the taxi-auto owner. “After conversion to CNG, the fuel cost has drastically gone down for them, so how can the fare be the same? Against this background our action is justified,” he said.