Auto fares up 'automatically'

PATNA: Autorickshaws are the lifeline of Patna. But if you thought the state government plays a proactive regulatory authority to fix auto fares so as to save commuters and auto drivers from avoidable hassles, correct your facts: The last such move on behalf of the government was made almost two decades ago.
Needless to say, city commuters all these years have been at the mercy of auto drivers who seem set to increase fares again in view of the recent hike in prices of petro products.What should worry you is the arbitrariness with which they would decide the fares.
There’s not even an auto drivers’ association in the city. Or so it seems. There’s one said to be running from Paani Tanki Mor on Boring Road. On the spot, however, there exists no office of such an association. Telephone numbers printed on a letterhead of the association, made available to this reporter, also turned out to be non-existing.
“It was here earlier,” an auto driver at the Paani Tanki Mor told TOI. Added another auto driver, “We now hold our meetings in parks.”
Janak Rai, who has been driving an auto in the city for 15 years now, admitted individual drivers decide auto fares in the city. “And there is every need to hike the fares,” he said.
“In the last five years, whereas the petro prices increased by more than Rs 15, our fares went up by only Rs 2 per passenger. Like, the fare from Gandhi Maidan to Danapur has gone up from Rs 8 to Rs 10,” said Babban Singh, another auto driver. “The fares from Gandhi Maidan to Rajapur Pul and Kurji Mor have remained static at Rs 5 and Rs 7 respectively during the last five years,” complained Sunny Kumar, yet another auto driver.
The state government is supposed to decide on the fares at regular intervals after taking into account factors like fuel prices, distance and sitting capacity of the vehicles. But the last such notification, prescribing auto fares on kilometre-basis, was issued on April 27, 1993.
As early as last year, the Patna SP (traffic) felt the need for an upward revision of auto fares in view of the hike in fuel prices. On his suggestion, the Patna DM sent a proposal to the regional transport authority (RTA). Even though any decision on the DM’s proposal is yet to be heard of, fuel prices have gone up afresh.
Patna division commissioner Sunil Barthwal, who is also principal secretary (transport), has an explanation to offer. “The department does not interfere because the competition and market forces take care of the tariff structure,” he said and added his department will certainly intervene if the fare hikes are unjustified.
RTA secretary Vijay Kumar Singh agrees the percentage increase of fares at times exceeds that of fuel prices.
“In such a case, the permit of the auto can be cancelled,” he said.
Interestingly, only 3,300 autos have been given permits to ply in the city though as many as 29,800 autos are registered with the district transport office.