The 24-hour autorickshaw strike from Tuesday midnight in Mangaluru was called to protest the fare reduction by the Regional Transport Authority (RTA) was total with all three-wheelers remaining off the roads.
Passengers, who came to the city early in the morning by trains and buses were caught unawares and had to struggle to reach their destinations. While some managed to get taxis, others made it by buses and vehicles of friends/relatives and many were forced to walk an extra mile. The situation was worse at Mangaluru Junction Railway Station where autorickshaw is the sole mode of public transport.
Michael D’Souza, a leader of an Autorickshaw Drivers’ Union who was present at the protest meeting at the Mangaluru Central Railway Station said that if the RTA does not withdraw its fare revision order, the Unions would go ahead with the strike. While increasing the fares in December 2012, the RTA waited for over two months after the demand was made and enhanced the fares following fare revision in Bengaluru, he said.
Similarly, the RTA should have waited for fare reduction in Bengaluru to take similar steps here, he said. Except reduction in fuel cost, prices of no other inputs, including oil, spare parts etc., have not come down. The cost of living too remains high, Mr. D’Souza lamented