Thousands of autorickshaw and cab drivers are living in fear that the financiers, who lent money for their vehicles, would act tough as soon as the lockdown is lifted. Since they are unable to pay their instalments this month, they are apprehensive that the financiers would forcefully collect the dues when the vehicles hit the road.
12% interest rate
On an average, auto drivers who purchase vehicles on finance end up paying monthly instalments of ₹8,000 to ₹9,000 while the amount for cabs is roughly around ₹20,000. Most of the financing for the vehicles is done by franchisees of big automobile finance companies at an interest rate of 12%, of which 3% is shared with franchisees.
There were about 1.5 lakh autorickshaws in Hyderabad and 3.7 lakh State-wide, but the means of livelihood of the drivers is far from comfortable, irrespective of whether one owns the vehicle or drives it on rent. Spouses of the drivers mostly work as maidservants or do odd jobs and do not have ration cards or Aadhaar issued in Hyderabad to access government benefits locally.
The life of drivers who hire vehicles will not change even after the lockdown ends as they will not have loan hangups but it is expected that the lenders will coerce them for repayments. “Already, there are enough signs of what’s in store as the franchisees have started calling up the drivers and asking them to clear the instalments,” said V. Kiran, president, Telangana Motor Workers Federation.
As regards cabs operated by app-based aggregators, the situation is worse — owners will not only have to pay monthly instalment but also the first quarter road tax with grace period which will expire by the month-end. The non-payment of tax entails a 50% penalty. There are about 80,000 cabs plying in Hyderabad.
