Chennai: Auto-rickshaw driver unions have urged the Tamil Nadu government to announce a long-pending fare revision when Transport Minister A. Vijay Tamilan Parthiban presents the department’s demands for grants in the Assembly on Friday.
The Auto-Taxi Workers Association, affiliated with the Centre of Indian Trade Unions, has warned that drivers’ associations will launch an agitation if the government fails to make a clear announcement on the revised tariff during the debate.
The association has proposed fixing the minimum fare at Rs 60 for the first 1.5 km and Rs 30 for every additional kilometre. Its demands also include a night tariff of one-and-a-half times the normal fare and a waiting charge of Rs 1 per minute.
According to association general secretary S. Balasubramaniam, the proposals were submitted to the government during a tripartite meeting chaired by the Transport Minister on July 9. The unions have sought the immediate finalisation and notification of the revised fare structure, citing the rising operational costs faced by drivers. Fuel prices, vehicle maintenance expenses, insurance premiums and the increasing cost of living have placed considerable pressure on auto drivers, the association said.
The union argued that the existing tariff no longer reflected the actual cost of operating an auto-rickshaw. The unions have also renewed their demand for tighter regulation of app-based bike taxis or a complete ban on their operation.
They alleged that bike taxi services were taking away passengers from auto-rickshaws and reducing daily earnings of drivers. The association said nearly five lakh families across Tamil Nadu depended directly or indirectly on the auto-rickshaw sector for their livelihood.
It urged the government to protect those families by regulating alternative passenger services and implementing a realistic fare structure.
Transport and Road Safety Commissioner Sigy Thomas Vaidhyan has convened a meeting with representatives of auto drivers’ unions on Thursday to discuss the proposed fare revision and other issues affecting the sector. The meeting is expected to cover the tariff structure, enforcement of metre-based fares, waiting charges, night tariffs and concerns surrounding bike taxi services.
Auto-rickshaw fares in Tamil Nadu were last revised in August 2013 during the previous AIADMK government. The tariff was then fixed at Rs 25 for the first 1.8 km and Rs 12 for every additional kilometre.
With no official revision for 13 years, many drivers have been collecting fares above the metre rate, citing increases in fuel and vehicle maintenance costs. Unions maintain that a government-notified tariff would protect both drivers and passengers by preventing arbitrary pricing and fare-related disputes.
(IANS)
