Govt will set up panel to revise taxi fares

The State Transport Authority (STA) said a committee will be set up soon to revise the taxi fares, following a demand by cab drivers.

The drivers said rising fuel prices and operation costs have affected revenue.

Leaders of several drivers’ associations and representatives of cab aggregator companies shared their grievances with the STA at a meeting on Friday.

Committee to be set up

The committee will examine the complaints raised by drivers, including the accusation of higher commission by aggregators, lack of parking facilities at airport, fare meter and proper working hours for drivers.

Transport Commissioner V P Ikkeri said the committee will comprise of officials from both transport and police departments. “They will consult all the stakeholders and arrive at solutions,” he said.

Additional Commissioner for Transport Narendra Holkar said Ola and Uber officials “should not cite the pending case (against Aggregator Rules 2016) in Karnataka High Court” as the reason for ignoring the transport department’s rules.

“The court has only stayed some sections of the law. Don’t think that you can do anything based on that stay. We will do our duty and implement the other sections,” he said.

Drivers demanded the STA to provide fare meters, similar to the one in auto rickshaws, to help them “escape the clutches of aggregators”.