Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot Wednesday constituted a 13-member committee to revise autorickshaw and taxi fares in the capital. The committee will be chaired by special commissioner of the State Transport Authority O P Mishra.
“In exercise of the powers conferred upon state governments under section 67(1) of Motor vehicles Act, 1988 regarding the passengers’ convenience, economically competitive fares, prevention of overcrowding and road safety accordingly, the minister of transport, GNCTD, has constituted a fare revision committee, in respect of revision of fares of auto rickshaws and taxis,” read the order by C S Nawani, deputy commissioner, ARTU, link officer, transport department.
The department has further assigned Delhi Integrated Multi-Modal Transit System to render technical support to the committee and Vikrant Mahawal DTO has been nominated to assist the committee, which has been asked to submit its recommendations within thirty days of issuance of this order.
On Tuesday, the transport minister also met the drivers of Ola, Uber and other cab aggregators and assured them that a committee will be formed to bring in uniform and revised fares. Following the minister’s assurance, driver’s unions who have been protesting in the scorching heat for 10 days decided to suspend their protest for 15 days.
“We met the minister yesterday and discussed the problems faced by the Ola and Uber cab drivers and also submitted a memorandum with our demands. He assured us that a committee will be formed to revise the app-based prices and fulfil our demands. So, we decided to withdraw our protest for 15 days. We will protest again if the government fails to make good on its promise,” said Sumit Bharadwaj, president of Expert Solution drivers’ association.
The committee was formed following several protests and a chakka jam held by all cab and autorickshaw unions on Monday, when nearly 95 per cent of autos and taxis were off the road.
Key demands of protesting drivers include revision of taxi fares by Rs 30 for AC and by Rs 25 for non-AC taxis per km; exemption for taxis registered in Delhi from MCD toll tax; launching the Delhi City Taxi Policy 2017 as suggested by the apex court; and ending cab aggregators systems by bringing all taxis and cabs under one head managed by the Delhi government with fixed prices and benefits for drivers.
