Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has revised autorickshaw fares across the state after 13 years, fixing the minimum fare at Rs 50 for the first 1.8 kilometres, PTI reported. The revised rates were notified in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette on Tuesday through a Home Department (Transport-I) notification, Government Order (G.O. Ms.) No. 366 dated October 27, issued under Section 67 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

Source: Devdiscourse (PTI)

Under the new structure, passengers will pay Rs 25 for every kilometre after the first 1.8 km. Night fares between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. will be 1.5 times the regular fare, and a waiting charge of Rs 1 per minute has been prescribed. For ghat (hill) sections, the fare has been fixed at 1.2 times the minimum fare, with a base fare of Rs 60 and Rs 30 for every additional kilometre.

The notification supersedes the Home Department notifications dated August 25, 2013 and October 16, 2014, and directs the State Transport Authority and the Regional Transport Authorities to implement the revised fare structure for contract-carriage autorickshaws operating in the Chennai Metropolitan Area and other regions of Tamil Nadu, The Hindu reported.

Source: The Hindu

The minimum fare has effectively doubled from the Rs 25 charged for the first 1.8 km under the old structure. Auto drivers' unions had long demanded a revision, citing rising fuel prices, insurance premiums and maintenance costs, and had sought a minimum fare of Rs 70, while passenger organisations had urged the government to keep it at Rs 50 so that short trips stayed affordable for daily commuters.

The revision will apply to around 3.46 lakh autorickshaws operating across Tamil Nadu. Drivers will now be expected to charge by the revised meter rates, and commuters in Chennai and other cities will see the higher fares reflected in their daily travel costs.