The Hindu
MANGALORE, Jun 9: The autorickshaw drivers have approached the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) for a revision in auto fares following the recent hike in prices of petroleum products.
Although the RTA is yet to decide on the issue, some autorickshaw drivers have started demanding higher fares from passengers, citing the hike in fuel prices. The passengers are left with no option but to pay what is demanded of them. S. Neeta, a resident of Mannagudda, said she had to pay Rs. 13 for travelling from Bharath Mall at Bejai to her residence, a distance of around 1.5 km. Earlier, she used to pay Rs. 11, as per the fares fixed by the RTA. “The auto driver demanded Rs. 13 even before I boarded the autorickshaw. I felt there was no point in haggling for two rupees as I had to return home quickly,” she said.
The plight of people, who arrive here in the early or odd-hours of the day by bus or train and want to hire an autorickshaw, is even worse. Kishore Suvarna, employed in an autonomous institution, who reached the city at 6.30 a.m. on Sunday from Bangalore by bus, said: “Autorickshaw drivers are refusing to go by the metered fare. They demand fares of their choice. It is a kind of take-it or leave-it situation.” M. Keshava Dharani, a senior motor vehicle inspector, said: “Autorickshaw drivers can charge one-and-a-half times the meter reading from 10 p.m. up to 6 a.m.” Passengers had every right to insist on being charged metered fares from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Autorickshaw drivers could not refuse to take passengers or charge extra fares, he added. However, Lokesh Puthran, an autorickshaw driver, has his own way of defending the stance of fellow drivers: “People do not mind leaving behind tips when they dine in restaurants. Why grudge giving us an extra rupee or two, that too when the fuel prices have been increased enormously.”
Regional Transport Officer D. Sadashiva said that action could be taken against errant drivers if the passengers lodged complaints.
President of Mangaluru Mahanagara Autorickshaw Union Ivan D’Souza said he had instructed the members to charge fares specified by the RTA and not more.
The autorickshaw drivers have, following the fuel price hike, demanded that minimum fare be raised to Rs. 15 for the first 1.5 km from the current Rs. 11, and Rs. 8 for every kilometre thereafter against the existing Rs. 6.50 a kilometre. The RTA is yet to decide on the earlier demand of authrickshaw drivers to raise the minimum fare to Rs. 13. The minimum fare in most cities is for the first two kilometres and not 1.5 km.