AHMEDABAD: Amdavad na rickshawallahs may still be all enthusiastic about ferrying you from one place to another or showing you around the city.
But that will come at a greater cost now. If you happen to take an autorickshaw as your convenient mode of point-to-point transport then your per kilometre cost of travel may increase by 50%.
In the wake of rising costs of CNG, autorickshaw drivers have proposed to increase fares.
CNG prices have risen by almost 15% over the past six months — from April to October. Adani CNG price increased from Rs 54.62 per kg to Rs 62.99 per kg. Gujarat Gas has increased CNG prices from Rs 52.45 per kg to Rs 60.78 per kg.
A meeting between autorickshaw drivers’ union members and the representatives of the Regional Transport Office (RTO), Ahmedabad, is set to be held on Wednesday.
A decision is expected to be taken on the fares.
Rajveer Upadhyay, the president of Jagrut Autorickshaw Drivers’ Union (JADU), said: “Currently, the minimum charge to travel 1.25km is Rs 15.” He added: “We have proposed to increase this to Rs 20. That apart, the per kilometre charge over and above the minimum fare should also be raised from the existing Rs 10 per kilometre to Rs 15-16 per kilometre.” He went on to say: “We will put forth this proposal before the RTO officials.”
Even if the per kilometre rate is increased to Rs 15 from the existing Rs 10, it will mean a 50% surge. This implies autorickshaw fares will be revised by at least 40% in the days to come.
After the lockdown, autorickshaw drivers faced a steep decline in business amid Covid-19 restrictions, the emergence of the work-from-home culture, and the citizens’ reluctance to use public transport.
“The business has picked up well of late and we are getting more trips in a day. But our revenues continue to remain eroded because of the surge in fuel costs,” said an Ahmedabad-based autorickshaw driver. “We don’t get enough money. We hope the RTO allows us to revise the rates.”
