Committee formed to review waiting charges for autos

New Delhi: Signalling a hike in fares for those sitting in traffic jams, the Delhi government has formed a three-member committee to review the waiting charges for auto-rickshaws in the national capital. The auto-rickshaw unions have for long demanding the revision of waiting charges.

Transport minister Satyendar Jain has directed the panel to submit its report on revision of the existing waiting charges. The committee comprises senior officials from transport department, weights and measures department and Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System Ltd. (DIMTS) —  a joint venture between the city government and the Infrastructure and Development and Finance Corporation, sources said.

The auto-rickshaw rides in Delhi may become costlier if the committee concedes to the demands of the unions. As per existing fare structure, if an auto-rickshaw gets stuck in a traffic jams or is asked for wait for more than 15 minutes, a passenger pays the driver Rs 30 per hour or part thereof. “The transport minister has asked the panel to submit the report at the earliest,” the official said. Delhi Auto-ricksaw Sangh has welcomed the move and asked it to immediately introduce it. “There hasn’t been any increase in waiting charge for last several years,” Delhi Auto-rickshaw Shangh and Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union general secretary Rajendra Soni said.

“We have been demanding that auto-rickshaw drivers should not be made to suffer due to longer traffic jams.”

Before the last year’s odd-even road-rationing scheme, banning private cars of alternate days, the government had asked DIMTS to study how fare meters can be recalibrated to incorporate revision of waiting charges in the existing fare system.