Autorickshaw aggregators minimum fare set at Rs 33

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru:

The Karnataka Transport Department on Friday issued an order directing auto rickshaw aggregators to collect the base price set by the government along with 5% convenience fee and the applicable Goods and Services Tax (GST) as the total fare. Ola, Uber and Rapido will have to follow this structure henceforth.

The new structure brings down the minimum price to Rs 33. The state government took this decision as it had on Monday informed the High Court that a decision on autorickshaw services offered by aggregators will be taken by Friday. The transport department had consulted the chief minister in this regard. The next hearing of the case will be heard on November 28.

The court is hearing writ petitions filed by Uber and Ola challenging the order of the transport department asking them to stop booking auto rides on their apps in Bengaluru. During the month of October, there were reports of ride aggregators charging excessive fare. There were instances of Rs 100 being charged for distances less than two kilometres.

The Transport Department had on October 6 issued a notice asking for an explanation from the aggregators and halting their services as it was not covered under the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules in 2016.

It was held that the taxi service was meant only for cars and was not applicable to auto rickshaws, and they were told to apply for a separate threewheeler licence.The High Court then allowed the aggregators to function by charging 10% convenience fee along with the base fare and GST as a temporary measure.

After this, no consensus was reached by the stakeholders even after several meetings. The price set by the government allows autorickshaws to collect Rs 30 as base fare for two kilometres and Rs 15 for the consecutive kilometres. Thousands of auto rickshaw rides are booked on aggregator platforms every day, and any decision in this regard is expected to impact a large number of Bengalureans.