Thursday, the first day of the hike in auto and taxi fares, was marked by confusion, complaints and squabbles, as most commuters and drivers did not have copies of the new tariff cards and no meters have been recalibrated.
The state has approved a Rs. 2 minimum fare hike for taxis and a Rs. 3 hike for autos. It has also hiked each subsequent kilometre fare of taxis from Rs. 10.50 to Rs. 12.35 and of autos from Rs. 7.12 to Rs. 9.87.
“On Thursday, we received 35 complaints, mostly from the eastern and central pockets,” said a traffic official.
“Despite hiked fares, there is no improvement in services,” complained engineering student Monisha Dhirmalani, 21.
Transport commissioner VN More said it’s wrong to expect all drivers to behave “like gentlemen” because of the hike.
Click here for the new fare chart