Transport dept to cap spiralling cab fares in Karnataka

The Transport Department on Friday announced a proposal to cap the fares charged by all cabs, including aggregators. The rates for aggregator cabs is likely to be different when the special guidelines for aggregators receives approval from the Law Department.

Addressing a press conference, Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy said people were complaining that the aggregator cabs were charging exorbitantly.

He said the rates would be fixed under the guidelines and cab operators would have to charge only those rates so as not to harass passengers. The cap on fares, however, would be applicable to both aggregator and non-aggregator cabs.

Transport Commissioner Ramegowda later told Deccan Herald that the rates announced were only a proposal and the department would come out with the final rates once the Law department returns the special guidelines for aggregators.

The maximum fare for AC cabs would be Rs 19.50 per km, for non-AC cabs Rs 16.50 per km, and for travel outside Bengaluru Rs 14.50 per km. There would be a two-tier tariff structure - one for the morning and another for the night.

The rates at night would be one and a half times the rate charged for day travel. The minimum charge would remain Rs 80 for first four kilometres.

The cabs now charge Rs 10 per km after the first four km. The new guidelines will fix the fare to be charged after the first four kilometres. Reddy said aggregators like Ola, Uber and Taxi For Sure would have to abide by the Transport Department’s fare guidelines.

When Deccan Herald sought the response of the cab aggregators, Ola and Uber representatives said: “We haven’t received any such information. The fares have not been communicated to us formally. We will be able to respond after  the government officially intimates us.”

The Transport Department has framed rules to prevent aggregators from collecting hidden charges. The new guidelines, likely to come into force within a month, also makes it mandatory for cab aggregators to comply with the Motor Vehicles Act. The department wants to fight the arbitrary pricing mechanism that aggregators follow, instead of using a standardised fare-chart.