Steep hike in taxi fares in Bengaluru

Taxi services in Bengaluru will get costlier by about 90% as the government on Thursday revised fares with immediate effect, a day after drivers staged flash protests and petitioned the Transport Department for a hike.

The department has retained the classification of cabs under four categories based on the price of the car. Each category has a base fare calculated for the first 4 km while a minimum and maximum fare bandwidth has been given for every subsequent km. Cab aggregators can choose the bandwidth to increase or decrease the per-km fare.

The notification says the hike will come into effect immediately. However, the cab aggregators may require a few days to change the fares on their apps. The new fares will apply to BBMP limits as well as areas in 25 km from the border of BBMP limits.

Accordingly, the base fare of cab service in 'D' category (cars that cost less than Rs 5 lakh) has gone up from Rs 44 to Rs 75. For every subsequent kilometre, while the aggregator is given the option to increase the fare up to Rs 36, the department has stipulated a minimum fare of Rs 11.

For 'C' category (Rs 5 to 10 lakh), which has the largest number of cabs in Karnataka, the base fare is Rs 100, up from Rs 48. The minimum and maximum bandwidth are Rs 21 and Rs 42, instead of the Rs 12 and Rs 24 earlier.

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The base fare for 'B' category has been fixed at Rs 120, up from Rs 64. The minimum and maximum bandwidth for subsequent distance have been increased to Rs 24 and Rs 48, respectively.

Those hailing a costly car of 'A' category will have to pay a base fare of Rs 150. Subsequently, every kilometre will cost between Rs 27 and Rs 54.

Principal Secretary for Transport Department Anjum Parvez, who had sought four days' time, cleared a proposal to hike the fares submitted by the transport commissioner.

Ola and Uber Drivers and Owners Association president Tanveer Pasha welcomed the hike but said the department has to clarify some issues.

"The notification uses the word aggregator and other taxis. The fares for 'other taxis' which ply with digital fare meter were increased in February. Another increase will mean they have to pay a hefty amount for recalibration. Secondly, the department has to clarify what the minimum earning of a driver is. Otherwise, the hike will only benefit the aggregator company," he said.