Mumbai: Recalibrate meters by Nov 30, or face fine, RTO tells taxis, autos

The fine will be charged when the autos and taxis come to recalibrate meters. File pic

Taxis and autorickshaws will face a daily fine and their permit may even be suspended if they fail to recalibrate their meters as per the new fare structure by November 30, the transport department announced earlier this week. Till last week, only 4 per cent of taxis and 11 per cent of autos in the city had updated their meters.

As per the announcement, autos and taxis will face one-day permit suspension for each day's delay till December 7. Thereafter, if anybody fails to get the meter recalibrated by February-end, a fine ranging from Rs 50 to Rs 5,000 will be levied when the vehicle is brought to the RTO for recalibration.

According to sources, the holidays played a role in the slow pace of meter recalibration as many auto and taxi drivers travelled to their hometowns. Thereafter, the unavailability of electronic chips at the Regional Transport Offices (RTO) also contributed to the delay.

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"The RTO has set up additional infra in Vikhroli along the Eastern Express Highway for taxis and autos to get meters recalibrated since October 1. However, till October 31, there has been very poor response with just 11 per cent of autos and 4 per cent of taxis coming to get their meters recalibrated," a senior RTO official said.

The transport department has fixed the price for meter recalibration at Rs 500. However, many taxi and auto drivers complained that they were being charged around Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500. Following the complaints, RTO officials had to intervene in the matter. A fare hike of Rs 3 for taxis and Rs 2 for autos was approved, taking the minimum fare for taxis Rs 28 and autos to Rs 23 from October 1.