Telangana govt to develop ride-hailing app for auto drivers

The Telangana government would develop a dedicated ride-hailing app like Uber and Ola to support auto drivers, state Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar said.

The auto drivers called off their planned indefinite strike from today following assurances by the state government on their various demands.

In a statement here Sunday night, Prabhakar said the state IT department would develop the proposed app. He, however, did not elaborate on the details of the proposed app.

The government has agreed to hike auto fares, marking the first increase since 2012.

He said the government would soon take a decision on allowing only those bike taxis which have yellow number plates for transporting passengers.

Drivers would receive Rs 1.50 lakh in financial assistance for retrofitting diesel and petrol autos with EV mechanism in Hyderabad.

Prabhakar also said he would take a positive decision on the ruling Congress promise of providing Rs 12,000 annually to the auto drivers after holding consultations with Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and other ministers.