Yet another attempt to implement the fare meter system for autorickshaws in the city has failed with a majority of autorickshaw drivers not complying with the government notification fixing the revised fare.
Autorickshaw unions have now taken the issue to the court seeking a revision of fares.
The State government had a few months ago issued an order extending the meter fares fixed for Chennai to rest of Tamil Nadu as well.
As per the government order, the minimum fare (for the first 1.8 km) for autorickshaws will be Rs. 25 and Rs. 12 for every additional kilometre.
Subsequently, the district authorities had asked all autorickshaws in the city to fix auto meters and ply according to the meter rates fixed by the government.
After some initial resistance from unions and a couple of time extensions, meters were made compulsory for all autorickshaws.
In December, the then Collector Jayashree Muralidharan had even arranged for supply of adequate number of meters by the manufacturers and credit tie-ups with banks following complaints of short supply of meters by the unions. The previous Commissioner of Police Shailesh Kumar Yadav had promised to enforce the meter system in the city.
Nearly four months after the initiative, autorickshaws drivers, except a few, do not operate the meters even if they had fixed the device in their vehicles. Some autorickshaws could still be running even without the meters.
“It is a total failure. We plan to file a contempt petition before the court against the district authorities for failing to enforce the system,” says S. Pushpavanam, secretary, Consumer Protection Council, who had been fighting for fixing meters in autorickshaws in the city for long.
However, autorickshaw unions claim that 90 per cent of the nearly 7,000-odd autorickshaws in the city have fixed meters but want the fare revised.
“Most of our members have fixed meters and transport authorities insist on fixing meters when vehicles go for fitness certification. We are ready to comply with the system. We only want a revision in the minimum fare to Rs. 30 and Rs. 15 for every additional kilometre. We have filed a petition in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court seeking the revision and convening of tripartite meetings every three months to review the fares. We are hopeful of getting a favourable direction from the court,” said Bakrudeen Babu, district secretary of the CITU-affiliated autorickshaw drivers’ union. Mr. Pushpavanam says the council would implead itself in the case.
