Karnataka govt revises cab fares, pegs them to class of vehicles
- by Xavier Trudeau
- in Financer
- — Jan 14, 2018
At the upper end, users will be charged a minimum fare of ₹80 for the first 4 km for larger cars that cost above ₹16 lakh and thereafter a minimum fare of ₹20 and maximum fare of ₹45 per km.
So a 10-km ride in a Tata Indica (assuming the vehicle price is under Rs 5 lakh) could cost you between Rs 110 and Rs 176. "We will ask the government to revoke the new fare notification, failing which we will either call for a bandh or stage a protest", Tanveer Pasha, President, Karnataka Taxi Owners' Federation told BusinessLine, who recently resigned as President of Ola Uber TaxiForSure Drivers and Owners Association, which he had founded.
"There is only a marginal difference in the revised fare structure as cab aggregators never followed the rule on maximum cap that was in place earlier".
According to the notification, a D-category taxi, costing up to Rs 5 lakh, will have a minimum fare of Rs 44 for the first 4 km, after they can charge anywhere between Rs 11 and Rs 22 a kilometre.
For subsequent kilometres, the aggregators can charge a minimum fare of Rs 12 and a maximum of Rs 24.
While for B category cabs costing between Rs 10 and 16 lakh, for the the first 4 km, charge will be Rs 68 and thereafter it will be minimum of Rs 16 to maximum of Rs 34 per km; For A category cabs costing above 16 lakh, for the first 4 km, charge will be Rs 80 and thereafter it will be minimum of Rs 20 to maximum of Rs 45 per km.
Taxis operating in the cities have been split into four classes based on the cost of the vehicle and the fare has been fixed on that basis.
For the first 20 minutes, there will be no waiting charges and post that, a charge of Rs 10 for every 15 minutes.
The setting of a minimum fare was a long-standing demand of drivers who were facing issues like predatory pricing which brought down drastically their earnings per month. "The demand from drivers, however, was to increase the minimum cap as they feel that cab aggregators make money at their expense".
Residents of Bengaluru may now have to shell out a minimum fare of Rs 44 for small cabs and Rs 80 for bigger sedans.
At first look, the new fare structure seems to be streamlining the fares rather than allowing a hike.
"The revision will help improve their earning potential and create sustainable livelihood opportunities", he said.
"While it is a step in the right direction, we believe dynamic pricing will help increase reliability for riders and improve asset utilisation for driver partners", said Christian Freese, GM-South, Uber India. "We remain committed to engaging and working with the relevant authorities to enable regulations that can enhance the future of urban mobility in the state".
