The Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) will grant city permits to 2700 autos in April after officials of the Legal Metrology Department approve their fare meters based on the revised auto fares, said a senior MVD official on Tuesday. The department is also expecting the State government to grant permission to raise the cap on the number of autos in Kochi with city permit from 4000 to 7000. For this, the government has to issue a fresh order, since the cap of 4000 autos was fixed two decades ago.
This is crucial for weeding out autos from the suburbs that ply without permits in the city. It will also check fleecing by unscrupulous drivers and the criminal elements, said the official. “Currently, we can give city permits to 4000 autos; only around 1300 autos with the permit operate now. We will grant city permits to another 2700 autos in April,” he added.
The city permit number must be displayed prominently at the front and rear of autos. The bonnet of these autos will have to be painted yellow, to distinguish them from autos sans city permit. Auto stands will be allotted to each of the autos with city permit and they will have to operate from the stand allotted to them.
Around two dozen auto taxis – the four-wheeler taxi cabs painted black and yellow- that operate in the city might have to go without stand as they have been given taxi permit.
