Mumbai commuters struggle as taxis, autos go off the road
22 Jun 2010
Mumbai's commuters are having a harrowing day today as a taxi and auto-rickshaw strike has crippled transportation in the city, even as Delhi avoided such an eventuality by being more prompt in announcing the inevitable fare hike from Wednesday, in the wake of a government-mandated hike in compressed natural gas prices.
The city's buses and trains were seen to be jam packed this morning, with 85,000 taxis and one lakh auto-rickshaws keeping off the roads since midnight. The strike has been called by one union, but other taxi and auto-rickshaw operators will not ply fearing violence.
Mumbai's transport commissioner is expected to meet the unions today to find a solution.
In Delhi, a revised fare structure is expected to be announced today. The Delhi government confirmed this on Monday, ending nearly a fortnight of speculation.
But a new, cheap taxi service is also in the works to reduce the monopoly of the capital's auto drivers, said transport officials.
The state cabinet approved in-principle a proposal to increase auto and taxi fares, chief minister Sheila Dikshit said. "The revised prices will be announced in a day or two after the transport minister has a final meeting with the unions on the matter. There will be no increase in bus fares," Dikshit said.
Transport officials indicated that the existing auto base fare of Rs10 for the first km will be raised to Rs20 for the first two km, and the charge of Rs4.5 for every subsequent kilometre will be increased to Rs6.
Black-and-yellow coloured taxis that currently cost Rs15 for the first km and Rs8.5 for every subsequent km will be raised to Rs20 for the first km and Rs12 for every subsequent km. There will be no revision in the fare of radio taxis. They will continue to charge Rs15 for each km.
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