Mumbai auto, taxi fare hike sparks concern among commuters; unions frown over meagre rate boost

The fare hike for autorickshaws and black-and-yellow cabs in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region has sparked concerns among commuters who fear the addition will burden their household budgets, even as union leaders demanded that the government reconsider the Rs 1 revision.

The concerns of commuters stem from the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Transport Authority (MMRTA) approving a Rs 1 increase in the minimum fare for autorickshaws and a Rs 2 hike for taxis, effective September 1.

The minimum autorickshaw fare will rise to Rs 27 from Rs 26, while the minimum taxi fare for the first 1.5 km will increase to Rs 33 from Rs 31.

“Bus fares have increased, taxi fares are going up, and petrol and diesel prices are rising, while salaries remain stagnant. This is wrong, isn’t it? If you increase, then increase everything; do it for everyone, for poor people also. If you are hiking petrol and diesel prices, raise the salary of poor people also,” a commuter working in Colaba told PTI Videos.

Another commuter, Sarfaraz Ahmed, a resident of Kalyan in Thane district, said rising prices are already affecting daily expenses.

“Inflation affects us every day. We were travelling by autos where the fare was Rs 20, but now it has become Rs 25 or Rs 30. There is no control over prices,” Ahmed said.

Swapan, a resident of Wadala in Mumbai, said the fare hike would impact everyone as the cost of essential commodities had already risen sharply.

“Inflation has reached the sky and life has become very difficult. Now taxi fares are also increasing, which will make things even more difficult,” he said.

Balasaheb Mhaske, another passenger, also opposed the increase, saying that even a Rs 2 rise could cause hardship to poorer sections.

“How will poor people manage with the increase? Everything keeps becoming more expensive. Sugar has reached around Rs 100 a kg. What will people eat?” he questioned.

A city-based autorickshaw union, meanwhile, has urged the Maharashtra government to reconsider the Rs 1 hike, saying it was inadequate to offset the rise in fuel, maintenance, insurance and other operating costs.

Seva Sarathi Autorickshaw Taxi and Transport Union general secretary D M Gosavi said the fare had been revised by only Rs 1 after a gap of nearly two years.

He demanded a scientific assessment of operating costs before fixing fares.

The union also sought consultations with driver representatives and a permanent mechanism for periodic fare revisions.

Shashank Rao, a leader of a taxi and autorickshaw union, told PTI that the approved fare hike was inadequate and that they should have been given another Rs 1 to Rs 2 increase.

Rao claimed the transport department had not consulted all the unions before deciding on fare revision.

Transport authorities have directed autorickshaw and taxi operators to get their meters recalibrated by the end of November.

There are more than 4.5 lakh autorickshaws and over 50,000 black-and-yellow taxis in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, most of which run on compressed natural gas (CNG).