Call taxis were becoming cheaper than autorickshaw rides in Coimbatore
Call taxis were becoming cheaper than autorickshaw rides in Coimbatore
Coimbatore: People of Coimbatore, who have been fleeced by autorickshaw drivers for years, are finally relieved over the new meter fare system announced by government. Auto drivers
who refused to comply with the fare system implemented in 2007, have been charging passengers exorbitant fares.
Call taxis were becoming cheaper than autorickshaw rides in Coimbatore. Without the meter fare system, even people began to shy away from taking autos and instead opted for the much cheaper call taxis.
For just 1 km, infamous Coimbatore autorickshaw drivers charge as much as Rs 50. For 2 km, it is as high as Rs 80 or Rs 100. People had to cough up Rs 120 for a destination even within 3 km. Bluntly put, it was simply ‘autocracy’ in Coimbatore.
The bitterness between passengers and auto drivers ran so deep that an irate passenger clubbed an overcharging autorickshaw driver to death in Pollachi in Coimbatore district.
The new tariff system has come after over two years of anguished wait following a court directive to the state transport department. “Though it is late, bringing in the meter system is a welcome move.
Even the other day, I paid Rs 130 for a trip from Singanallur to Iyer hospital on Trichy road, which is hardly 3 km. As it was night and raining lightly, I was left with no option but shell out such a huge amount for this short journey,” said Mr N. Prabhu, who runs a water wash service station at Avarampalayam.
Similarly, Mr M. Kumar from Hope College, who works in a bike showroom, said he paid Rs 120 for reaching Sitra from Hope College, which is just a seven-minute ride.
Auto unions plan massive protest:
The auto unions, which have for long been demanding a higher fare than Chennai, are planning to hold a massive protest over the new auto fare introduced uniformly for Tamil Nadu.
“We are disappointed with the new fares.
It can’t be implemented here or in other districts as it is not viable for auto drivers, considering the rising cost of fuel, vehicle rent and increasing prices of essential commodities. Forcing auto drivers to implement the new fares may also spell trouble,” said Mr Sukumaran of Coimbatore district auto union joint council.
Implementation of the meter fare system remained elusive for long in Coimbatore as auto unions here demanded Rs 30 for 1.5 km and Rs 15 for every additional km, which is higher than the government’s fixed fare.
“Chennai is vast and has good tourist and public patronage for autos in contrast to Coimbatore, where the people don’t use autos very much. Since we hardly get trips, we were asking for an increased meter fare,” he said.
With the district administration and transport department gearing up to implement the meter fare system, the auto unions have threatened to make open their opposition to the new system on October 28 in Coimbatore. There are more than 11,000 autos in Coimbatore city.
It was only Makkal Auto, which became a hit in Coimbatore due to its low fares, that found it viable to carry out its operations with the rate card fixed in 2007. So far, the service providers had been charging a minimum of Rs 14 up to 2 km and Rs 6 for every additional km with a waiting charge of 40 paise for five minutes, which was the last revised tariff, fixed in 2007.
“We have increased our fleet of autos from 38 to 76 in a short span of time because of the tremendous response from the public. We receive around 3,000 to 4,000 calls a day and it was hard for us to meet the demand.
Though it was little difficult to manage with such low fares, we stuck to it to adhere to the government fixed fare,” said Mr T. Selvaraj, managing director of Makkal Auto.
New auto fare for Kovai:
As the meter fare system comes into immediate effect, the transport department has warned that permits will be cancelled without prior notice if autos plied without the mandatory meters or if the meters did not function.
“The electronic meters should be calibrated with the revised fare within 60 days and those with mechanical meters should convert them into electronic meters within 90 days,” said regional transport officer, Coimbatore Central, S Munusamy.
( Source : dc )
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