Govt to decide auto, taxi fare hike in a week

Mumbai: Mumbaikars may have to pay more for their auto rickshaw and taxi rides as a hike in minimum fares is on the cards. The government may take a decision next week, with auto rickshaw owners demanding a minimum fare of Rs 25 and the taxi union demanding a minimum fare of Rs 30. The taximen’s union even refuted the proposal of a happy hour concession raised by the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat.

While the BEST has reduced its minimum fares, taxi and auto rickshaw associations are demanding a hike in fares. A meeting was held Friday in the presence of transport secretary Ashishkumar Singh to discuss the fare hike. Representatives of the taximen’s union and the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat were present at the meeting. Surprisingly, the auto rickshaws union was not called for the meeting.

Chairman of the Mumbai Grahak Panch-ayat, Shirish Deshpan-de, said that the taximen’s union was demanding a fare hike as per the Khatua committee report presented in 2017. The Khatua committee had suggested a hike in fares with some concessions to commuters.