Don’t Let Cabbies Take You For a Ride!

August 20, 2014

The time has come again for another hike in autorickshaw and taxi fares. This fare hike however, is applicable in only vehicles whose e-meter has been reset or recalibrated.

The process of recalibration of the e-meters will be gradual. Meters of autorickshaws and taxis with number plates that end in ‘0’ shall be recalibrated over a span of three days starting from 17th August’14. The next three days are reserved for recalibrating meters for vehicles with number plates ending in ‘1’ and so on, till the meters of every autorickshaw and taxi are recalibrated.

Going by this timetable, number plates ending in 9 will be recalibrated around 7^th September’14. This process will take between 30 to 45 days with a 15-day cushion to accommodate such vehicles which may have missed the deadline.

Please be aware that the fare that appears in the e-meter is what you need to be pay. The fare hike does not apply to a vehicle in which the e-meter has not been recalibrated. Commuters are advised not to acknowledge tariff cards with new fares presented by any driver, as fare cards are illegal.

Please read below the Do’s and Don’ts that Commuters should know, Problems that Commuters may face and the RTO Helplines, as reported in the Times of India.

Do’s and Don’ts:

• Do not pay excess fares to an auto or taxi driver unless new fares are displayed on the e-meter. A recalibrated meter will show Rs. 17 as base fare for autos and Rs. 21 for taxis
• Do not pay by any fare tariff card shown by the driver.
• If there is any complaint of a fake tariff card, driver harassing or behaving rudely you can lodge a complaint with the local Traffic Police or RTO.
• Lodge complaints online on the Traffic Police website.
• No driver is allowed to charge a ‘fixed fare’. Bring this to the notice of the Police/RTO
• Drivers have to display a badge and an ID card on demand

Problems you could face:

• RTOs have issued a warning to commuters about fake tariff cards, which usually do the rounds after a fare revision.
• They have repeated that there cannot be any hiked fare till all meters are recalibrated and a notification is issued.
• There will also be a crackdown on scores of illegal meter repair shops that help drivers rig e-meters.

The RTO helpline can be reached at – 1800-22-0110

If you want to complain about an errant taxi or rickshaw driver, you can send it via an email to the RTO. If the incident took place in the Island City, you can send an email to mh01@mahartranscom.in; if the incident took place in the Western Suburbs, you can send an email to mh02@mahartranscom.in; and if the incident took place in the Eastern Suburbs, you can send an email to mh03@mahartranscom.in.

The complete article as printed by the Times of India on 14^th August 2014, about the hike in rickshaw and taxi fares can be read here.

Tags: Be a Smart Consumer

All our articles are periodically updated.