Uber, Ola comply with government regulations on autorickshaw prices
Bengaluru has set the minimum auto fare at Rs 30 for the first two km and Rs 15 for each additional km.
After receiving numerous complaints about overcharging, the Karnataka government deemed Uber and Ola auto-rickshaw services “illegal,” and both companies have responded. The minimum auto fare for the first two kilometres has been returned to Rs 30 by Uber and Ola, who have informed the government that they have complied with the regulations.
Players in the mobility industry like Ola, Uber, and Rapido had been told to stop offering auto rickshaws in Bengaluru within three days. On Thursday, these businesses received notices from the state department of transportation.
Several commuters complained to the transportation department about how Ola and Uber charge a minimum of Rs. 100 even for trips of less than two kilometres (km). Bengaluru has set the minimum auto fare at Rs 30 for the first two km and Rs 15 for each additional km.
“Ola, Uber submitted their response to the transport department last evening. No one has shut operations,” said an industry source. “All aggregators have gone back to the government mandated fares. This means a one-km trip would cost Rs 70, which includes basic fare of Rs 30 and convenience fee of Rs 40, which remains same for longer trips as well.”
The notice said the provision of auto-rickshaw services has been directed to be discontinued; it asked these ride aggregators not to charge passengers more than the rate prescribed by the government.
In relation to the question about this matter, neither Uber or Ola responded.
40 percent (51,900 out of 130,000 auto drivers) have adjusted their metres as of February 2022, according to government statistics. As many auto drivers don’t use metres when making offline trips, customers have also expressed frustration about the difficulties they continue to have getting to work. According to a government regulation, auto fares increase by 1.5 times from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. According to sources, representatives from Uber and Ola told the government that customers have a much harder time getting drivers to use metres on offline trips. They have informed them that the advantages of app-based rides include “no haggling, fixed price, and door-step pick-ups.”
Karnataka Transport Minister B Sriramulu on Saturday reportedly said he has directed officials to impound auto-rickshaws that are still being operated by ride-hailing companies despite a ban by the state government. His orders came after complaints regarding app-based mobility players still operating auto rickshaw services, despite the Karnataka transport department had dubbed these services “illegal” under the On-Demand Transportation Technology Act, 2016. Sriramulu had said that he would decide the next course of action in a couple of days.
The Act, which exempts auto-rickshaws from its regulations, served as the basis for the licences granted to these mobility players. According to industry sources, there are currently no aggregator rules for auto-rickshaws; however, once these rules are developed, this industry can be regulated. This process would take time. They claimed that because the models were different, offline and online auto trips couldn’t be measured using the same standard.
According to industry sources, a ban on the online auto-rickshaw services offered by mobility players would have a negative effect on the Rs 100 crore in revenue (from Bengaluru alone) that the sector (online) generates for the government each year. They claimed that auto-rickshaws booked offline are frequently more expensive and less dependable. “In the absence of strong public transport like buses and metro, daily commutes will get impacted,” said a person familiar with the matter.
Any trip that is booked online in Bengaluru will include an auto fare. The government-mandated base fare and per-kilometre fare are among them, as are the aggregator’s booking and convenience fees. In order to encourage drivers to pick up passengers in light of rising fuel prices, the minimum fare on a trip increased from Rs 30 to Rs 60, which gave rise to the problem. “Now that the status quo is restored, drivers will lose out on income,” said an industry source.
