The Tamil Nadu government has issued a government order fixing the minimum fare for auto-rickshaws in the state at Rs. 50 and Rs. 25 for every additional kilometer traveled.
Not only in the Chennai metropolitan area, but also in other parts of Tamil Nadu, the government has instructed the State Transport Authority and the concerned Regional Transport Officers to determine the fare rates for auto-rickshaws operating on a contract basis. In this regard, Government Order No. 366 was issued on Tuesday by the Home Department (Transport-1) of the Tamil Nadu government.
New fare details: Accordingly, under the new fare rates, the minimum fare for the first 1.8 km has been fixed at Rs. 50. After that, a fare of Rs. 25 will be charged for every kilometer traveled. For autos operating on hilly routes, the fare has been fixed at 1.2 times the minimum fare. Accordingly, the base fare for hilly routes will be Rs. 60, and an additional Rs. 30 for every kilometer traveled. From 10 p.m. to 5 a.m., charging one and a half times the regular fare has been permitted. A waiting charge of Rs. 1 per minute has been fixed for autos.
Fare revision after 13 years: The meter fare for auto-rickshaws in Tamil Nadu was last fixed in 2013. Accordingly, the fare was set at Rs. 25 for the first 1.8 km and Rs. 12 for every km thereafter. Since expenses such as fuel prices, vehicle maintenance costs, and insurance charges have increased, drivers have been continuously urging that auto fares be raised.
In this regard, a consultation meeting was held last July under the chairmanship of the Transport Minister with auto-rickshaw drivers' associations and consumer organizations. Following that, consultations regarding a fare hike were also held in August.
Auto driver associations had demanded that a minimum fare of Rs. 60 to Rs. 70 be fixed for the first 1.5 km, and that they be allowed to charge Rs. 25 to Rs. 30 for each additional km. Consumer organizations had insisted that the minimum fare should be fixed at Rs. 50.
Meanwhile, public consultation meetings were also held at the district level in September. In this context, the Tamil Nadu government has now issued a government order fixing new fare rates for autos.
Auto Drivers’ Association thanks: In this regard, in a statement issued by A. Zahir Hussain, chairman of the joint committee of auto drivers’ associations, he thanked the Chief Minister, the Minister concerned, and the Transport Department Commissioner for taking action by accepting the long-pending demand of drivers to increase the auto meter fare, which had not been revised for the past 14 years.
He said that auto drivers wholeheartedly welcome the new fare fixed by the government, and that they will work together honestly by properly following the fare regulations announced by the government and not charging passengers extra.
