Now, minimum auto fare collected is Rs. 80
Posted on: 26/Sep/2018 3:07:00 PM
As the petrol price trends to increase, the minimum fare for auto being collected now is Rs. 80. This has subjected the public to some more severe hardship. Many of them prefer to travel by MTC buses waiting in the bus stops.
For the autos plying in Chennai Metro, around 72000, the state government of Tamil Nadu fixed the minimum fare on 25th August 2013. It was Rs. 25. An additional Rs. 12 per km was to be charged. This was implemented immediately.
However, with the recent trend of increasing petrol prices, the auto drivers demand and get additional charges from the customers.
As there are no signs of petrol prices coming steady, the auto drivers have started demanding Rs. 80 as the minimum fare. The public is sorely disappointed with this development.
CITU executive shared in this regard that while fixing the minimum fare in 2013, the petrol price was Rs. 65 per litre. Now, it is Rs. 86 per litre. Further, the prices of eh spare parts have also increased. This has affected the auto drivers quite severely. Some of them even have changed their profession. So, there is a plan to conduct a meeting of Auto Unions. Some important decisions will be taken during this meeting. Especially, the state government will be insisted to revise the auto fares.
Some of the auto passengers observed that when the state government fixed the minimum fare, the monitoring by traffic police was quite strict and the auto drivers followed the rates fixed. However, nowadays, most of the auto drivers do no use the meter even when being engaged in crowded places such as railway stations and bus termini. They generally bargain the fare. They cite the petrol price increase as well. They demand a minimum fare of Rs. 80. So, action must be taken on such autos.
