Cab fares: Karnataka government rejects own proposal of a minimum fare

Bengaluru: Cab aggregators have cause for celebration with the state government rejecting its own Transport Department’s proposal of a minimum fare. The committee had, in March this year, recommended Rs 10 and Rs 12 per kilometre for Non-A/C and A/C cabs respectively.

"Even though the committee was formed by the Government, they have rejected the minimum fare. They have formed a new committee with the Joint Comissioner of Transport- Bangalore Urban and asked us to consult with Ola and Uber companies as well this time," said HG Kumar, Additional Commissioner for Transport, who is also a member of the committee.

The earlier suggestion came as a result of strikes by Ola and Uber's driver partners, whose livelihood was affected by low base fares (predatory pricing) of aggregators competing with each other. However it included only experts within the department and lacked both industry representatives and drivers.

Radakrishna Holla, President of the Bengaluru Tourist Taxi Operators Association said, "One of the reasons it is hard to fix a minimum fare is that the cab companies have different kinds of cars. The rate is decided on fuel cost, vehicle depreciation value, insurance for the vehicle and several other factors."

A uniform cab fare doesn’t make sense, he added, “when Uber and Ola have vehicles ranging from a 1200 cc sedan to a 2000c Innova. The cost of purchase and maintenance differs in both cases.”

The Karnataka government, however, found these recommendations too one-sided and has asked the Transport Department to produce another report. Representatives of Ola, Uber, cab drivers and other taxi permit holders in the city and government officials are part of this committee.