The Transport Commissioner has asked all taxi and autorickshaw operators to display in their vehicles the fare card issued on the basis of the revised fares.
The directive is in the wake of the delay in getting the fare metres of autorickshaws calibrated to the new fares and to end the fleecing of commuters. Transport Commissioner K. Padmakumar has appealed to the commuters to approach the respective Regional Transport Officers (RTOs) in case of complaints of collection of excess fare.
Autos
The minimum fare for travelling 1.5 km in autorickshaws is ₹25 and the fare for every additional 0.5 km is given in the fare card up to 21 km. In case the distance is not mentioned in the card, ₹1.2 per 100 metres should be given for the distance commuted. An excess of 50 % should be given for commuting between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
In all places except Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Thrissur, and Kozhikode City Corporations and major towns of Kannur, Palakkad, and Kottayam, minimum charge and 50% of the total fare should be given for one-way travel between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. For two-way travel, only metre charge has to be paid. The waiting charge for each 15 minutes or its multiples is ₹10 and for the full day, ₹250.
Taxis
The minimum charge for travelling by the taxis for 5 km in vehicles below 1,500 cc is ₹175 and ₹15 for every subsequent additional km. In the case of taxis above 1,500 cc, the minimum fare for travelling 5 km will be ₹200 and ₹17 for every subsequent km.
The waiting charge of the taxis has been fixed at ₹50 for one hour and its multiples and the maximum will be ₹500 for a day. The Transport Commissioner has asked the taxi drivers to clearly display the engine capacity in the vehicles for the travellers as the fares are different for vehicles below 1500 cc and above.