Mumbai: Unhappy auto, taxi drivers say will stick to old fares for now

Many cabbies said they find the fare hike more of a hurdle than help. Pic/Bipin Kokate

Most taxi and auto drivers in the city did not rush on Monday to get their meters recalibrated for the new tariffs announced by the state government last week.

A test drive by this newspaper on Day of the new tariff regime found that in addition to lack of coordination, many cabbies saw the fare hike more of a hurdle than help.

mid-day took a cab from Mumbai Central station to Bombay Hospital, which bypassed through Byculla. The fare came to be about Rs 80 as per the old rate. Driver Javed Sayed said he would keep charging his customers as per the earlier tariff till he gets his meter recalibrated.

Another taxi took Rs 22, the old base fare, for ferrying this correspondent from Bombay Hospital to Kala Ghoda. The man at the wheel, Devi Prasad, said he too was not in a hurry to go for the new rate.

"There was no need for this fare hike. It only means expenses for us. We will now have to go to RTO, queue up and face red tape and spend about R800 for the recalibration. We had asked for a hike when things were normal in pre-COVID times and gave it to us amid the pandemic. Instead, they should have reduced the rate by Rs 2," he said.

The fare hike has pushed up the minimum rate, for the first 1.5 km, for autorickshaws from R18 to R21, while the base fare for the black-and-yellow taxis will be Rs 25, a Rs 3 hike. The fare increment per kilometre has also been spiked by over Rs 2 for autos and taxis. Cabbies and auto drivers can get their meters recalibrated till May 31.