THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Taking into consideration the long-pending demands from autorickshaw and taxi drivers, the government has decided to increase the minimum fare for autorickshaws and taxis, fixing it at Rs 25 and Rs 175 respectively. The Cabinet on Wednesday took the decision.
However, it will be formalised after presenting it in the Assembly. The government had entrusted the task of studying the fare revision to a committee headed by former High Court judge M Ramachandran. The fare has been revised considering the regular rise in fuel prices.
“The committee has recommended the minimum autorickshaw fare be raised from Rs 20 to Rs 30. Taxis, with a current minimum fare of Rs 150, should be increased to Rs 200. But the government decided to increase it to Rs 25 and Rs 175. The new charge will be implemented as soon as the notification is out,” said a senior official.
It was in 2014 the fares were revised after months of protest by the trade unions. Moreover, fuel prices were hiked several times after the fare revision, as a result of which drivers were not able to pull on without a fare revision. The auto-taxi union representatives demanded Rs 30 to be fixed as minimum charge for one-and-a-half km and an extra Rs 15 for each extra km for autorickshaws.
The traditional taxi owners demanded a uniform rate for all the online vehicles. Though the fare revision recommendation report was accepted with a few variations, the commission rejected the demand raised by the union to put restrictions on online taxi services.