Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is likely to launch the prepaid auto rickshaw service in the capital city on March 22. Initially, the service would be introduced at three places, at the Railway station, Baramunda bus-stand and KIIT Square, said a notification of Transport Department and Commissionerate police. In the first phase, 150 autos would be deployed at the railway station and 100 each at the Baramunda bus-stand and KIIT Square.
The service will be available 24x7 at the railway station and between 6 am till 10 pm at bus stand and KIIT Square. The service will be launched at the Airport later. As per the notification, the charges have been capped at Rs 30 for the first two kilometres, which also is the minimum amount payable for hiring a pre-paid auto. Beyond the first two kilometres, the charges would be calculated at Rs 10 per kilometre. If the auto is hired for a distance of more than 20 kilometres, the charges would come down to Rs 8 per km beyond the first 20 km.
“Night time charges (11 pm- 5 am) have been capped at Rs 50 for the first two kilometres, which is also the minimum night rental charge. Beyond the first two kilometres, the tariff would be 30 per cent higher than day charges,” said a senior official of the Transport Department. The tariff would be calculated within the distance from one square to another. The auto drivers will drop the passenger within one kilometre radius of the destination square as asked by the passenger.
“The drivers can claim the rental charges by submitting the receipt at the counter after dropping the passenger. We will keep a copy of the RC book of the autos, driver’s permanent address, photo and driver’s licence with us. This is going to curb criminal activities by auto-drivers in the city and make travel safer,” said Bhubaneswar RTO-2 Sanjay Kumar Behera.