Residents of Bengaluru may now have to shell out a minimum fare of Rs 44 for small cabs and Rs 80 for bigger sedans.
According to a notification issued by the State Transport Department on Wednesday, the government is fixing the minimum fares of cabs based on the type of car.
Until now cab aggregators like Ola and Uber were free to charge what they wanted, but with this notification, the prices of taxis may shoot up drastically.
Under the new scheme, radio taxis, as per the Karnataka on-demand Transportation Technology Aggregators rules, will be able to charge fares based on the amount they have paid to buy the vehicle.
The notification has divided cars into four categories of taxis –the most expensive has been classified as Category A and the least expensive car categorized as D.
“The minimum fare for the first 4 km for every class of taxi will be fixed. This may be between Rs 44 for a D-category vehicles and Rs 80 for A-category vehicles,” HM Revanna, the Transport Minister said.
The notification says that the waiting period for cabs will be free for the first 20 minutes after which a charge of Rs 10 will be levied for every 15 minutes of time spent waiting.
“This has been a long-standing demand of drivers who have been complaining about pricing issues, which has led to them earning very low incomes,” Revanna added.
The Minister also said that the cab-aggregating companies had not yet responded to the price-change model.
According to the notification, a D-category taxi, costing up to Rs 5 lakh, will have a minimum fare of Rs 44 for the first 4 km, after they can charge anywhere between Rs 11 and Rs 22 a kilometre.
A C-category vehicle, costing between Rs 5-10 lakh, will have a minimum fare of Rs 52 for the first 4 km, after which the maximum price per kilometre can be between Rs 12 and Rs 24.
For a B-category vehicle, costing between Rs 10-16 lakh, the maximum fare for the first 4 km is Rs 68, after which the maximum price can be Rs 34 and a minimum price can be Rs 16 per km.
Similarly, for an A-category vehicle, costing more than Rs 16 lakh, the maximum fare for the first 4 km is Rs 80, after which a maximum amount of Rs 45 or a minimum of Rs 20 per km can be charged.
Reacting to the new norms, Tanveer Pasha, President of the Karnataka Taxi Drivers Association, called the move an “election gimmick”.
Speaking to TNM, Pasha said, “The new norms are unscientific. They will not benefit the drivers of normal taxis, nor will the customers benefit from it. This has been done purely to appease Ola and Uber companies and help increase their revenue. It is an election gimmick. This will help only drivers of Ola and Uber but not anyone else,” Pasha added.