Written by: Express News Service
2 min readMumbaiFeb 25, 2012 02:33 AM IST
First published on: Feb 25, 2012 at 02:33 AM IST
The Mumbai Autorickshaw Drivers Union on Friday said it plans to stage an agitation by March-end,after the examination season in schools and colleges,if the government does not meet its demand of increasing fares and linking tariff to the cost of living index.
The union led by Nationalist Congress Party leader Sharad Rao has demanded that the minimum fare for auto-rickshaws be raised to Rs 16 from Rs 11. The union has also demanded a fare hike of Rs 2 for every kilometre (km) thereafter.
“The fare hike is necessary keeping in mind increasing expenses of drivers. We will lead a morcha to Azad Maidan after school and college exams. Ultimately,every agitation leads to closure of services,” Rao said,admitting the protest will take the form of a strike.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority had in October last year hiked auto-rickshaw fares by 50 paise for every additional km after the minimum fare in Mumbai and Thane.
Now,the fare is decided on a formula suggested by the Hakim Committee in 1996. The formula considers cost of purchasing and maintaining the vehicle,fluctuations in the consumer price index,the mileage per one kg of compressed natural gas and mileage when autos are running without passengers.
The fare should be determined more on basis of cost of living index than other factors,he said,adding the formula was primarily for taxis and had been unjustly extended to auto-rickshaws.
Rao also said he has filed a petition in the Bombay High Court challenging the state government’s decision to make installation of electronic meters for existing auto-rickshaws compulsory from April 1.
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