New Auto fares. Will it work ?
The State government, after a gap of six years, revised
the autorickshaw fares in Chennai city. The revision came in the light
of the Supreme Court’s direction to Tamil Nadu government to fix the new
autorickshaw fares.
Spurt in fuel prices made the
government fix the fare for the first 1.8 km as Rs. 25 and Rs. 12 for
every additional kilometre. The late night (11 p.m. to 5 a.m.) charges
have been fixed at 50 per cent over and above the meter fare. The
waiting charge has been fixed at Rs. 3.50 for every five minutes and Rs.
42 for an hour. The new fare structure came into force last week and
the drivers have to recalibrate their meters by October 15.
This
swift move of the government has gladdened all sections of society.
With all the major schemes introduced by the government such as the
budget canteens supplying breakfast and lunch at subsidised rates
initially in the State capital, were later extended to other parts of
the State, the people of Tiruchi expect the State government to
introduce the revised autorickshaw fares in Tiruchi too.
Autorickshaw
drivers fleecing the hapless commuters are a common happening in
Tiruchi. The people arriving by buses and trains in the early morning
hours have to be always at the mercy of the autorickshaw drivers. Some
unscrupulous autorickshaw drivers treat the commuters in such a shabby
manner that as high as Rs. 100 is charged even for a short distance of
half a km from the Tiruchi Junction to Central Bus Stand.
The
district authorities introduced point to point fare and the same too
was displayed in public places. But this system was an utter failure,
much to the disappointment of the commuters. Repeated pleas for
introduction of pre-paid auto system too have not yielded any result,
with the commuters silently suffering at the hands of autorickshaw
drivers for years together.
However, the
autorickshaw drivers in the city are opposed to the move to introduce
the Chennai model of meters in Tiruchi city. They say the geographical
area and the number of autorickshaw stands in Chennai were different
from a relatively smaller city of Tiruchi. “No doubt, our tariff is
higher than that in Chennai. From Tennur to the Ponnagar our tariff is
Rs. 120.
This would be about Rs. 45 or Rs. 50 based
on government tariff. But, during the return, we do not pick up
passengers. In fact we avoid the wrath of autorickshaw drivers at a
number of stands en route,” says Syed Ibrahim, an autorickshaw driver at
Tennur.
The autorickshaw drivers say although it was
a welcome measure benefiting both the consumers and the autorickshaw
drivers, it was suited for a large city like Chennai. They are
optimistic that the government’s norms would be Tiruchi-specific. They
all appreciate the concession for autorickshaw drivers at night and
early morning. “Even consumers are convinced of the difficulties of the
autorichaw drivers during the odd-hours and volunteer to give extra
money,” they say.
A. Zaikr Hussain, another
autorickshaw driver of Palpannai traffic island, says that Tiruchi city
accounted for a large number of autorickshaws — more than what is
needed. He points out that the number of autorickshaw stands should be
minimised to enforce the meter fare.
Pandian of the
stand near the KAP Viswanatham Higher Secondary School in Thillainagar,
says the scheme would not materialise in Tiruchi city. He says the
Centre and the State governments should take special efforts to market
subsidised diesel rate for autorickshaws and passenger vehicles “At any
cost, the government’s rates will not be commensurate with the soaring
prices of petrol and diesel, maintenance of the vehicles,” he says.
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