The Transport Department has notified a separate fare chart for auto-rickshaws attached to aggregators, ending accusations that the aggregators are charging exorbitantly.
Sources told DH that the transport department will submit a fare chart to the High Court of Karnataka, which is hearing a petition questioning the Transport Commissioner's order banning the platforms like Ola, Uber and Rapido from aggregating auto rickshaws.
In its interim order, the high court had considered the government’s submission that it was ready to fix fares. “We are moving ahead as per the court’s direction. A separate set of fares has been formulated for autos running through aggregators. The same will be placed for the court’s consideration,” an official confirmed.
Sources said the new fare chart brings the bandwidth of maximum fare to cap surge pricing, which will help in regulating the aggregators from collecting exorbitant fares.
“In the last meeting, the aggregator companies were not happy with the fare caps and demanded wider bandwidth for dynamic fare. However, we have to take into account the concerns of the public. At the end of the day, passengers should not be asked to pay a fare that is not reasonable,” the source said.
The department's failure to regulate the aggregators stems from the fact that the rules framed for that purpose have been challenged in the high court in a case pending since 2016.