CHENNAI: Autorickshaw fares in Tamil Nadu may be revised soon as the state government is set to conduct a tripartite meeting with such vehicle owner associations and consumer protection bodies on Thursday. Minister for Transport A Vijay Tamilan Parthiban will chair the meeting.
As per invitations sent out by D Baskara Pandian, director of transport and road safety, to stakeholders, the meeting will be held at the Commissionerate of Transport and Road Safety in Guindy at 11 am. The invitation requested the participation of trade unions and consumer bodies, and opinion on fare revision.
Autorickshaw fares were last fixed in August 2013 during the AIADMK regime. The fare was fixed at Rs 25 for the first 1.8 km and Rs 12 for every additional kilometre. Waiting charges and night charges were also fixed.
Auto unions have been demanding the government to increase the fares to match the “rising” fuel costs.
“In 2022, the Madras High Court ordered a meeting on fare revision and the meeting was conducted. A revision, however, was not done. In 2022, the price of CNG was Rs 52 per kilogram. Now, the same has increased to Rs 100. We are demanding a fare increase of Rs 50 for the first 1.5 km and Rs 25 for every additional kilometre,” S Balasubramaniam, general secretary of Auto-Taxi Workers Association (CITU), said.
