In Bengaluru, the cab aggregators on Saturday slashed down the minimum auto rickshaw fares to Rs. 35 and Karnataka’s transport department has asked people to report to the authority if they charge more than 10 per cent of framed prices. According to reports, the transport department in the state received more than 100 complaints from passengers who alleged the aggregators were charging more. “It will be contempt of court if taxi apps charge more than 10% of the government fixed cap. We will submit all the complaints to the court in next hearing,” an official said.
The transport department has also put out the WhatsApp number to report the overcharging. “It will be contempt of court if taxi apps charge more than 10% of the government fixed cap. We will submit all the complaints to the court in next hearing,” an official was quoted as saying.
On Friday, the Karnataka High Court allowed the cab aggregators to run auto rickshaw services with an excess fare of 10% to the government’s fixed cap prices in the state. Ola and Uber had challenged the Karnataka government’s auto rickshaw service ban on taxi apps in high court that was issued on October 6.
However, starting from Saturday, Ola and Uber slashed the minimum auto fare to Rs. 35. It used to be as high as ₹100 earlier. Reports also suggested that the government will come up with a new frame of auto fares in 10 to 15 days.
In November last year, the Karnataka government raised the meter fares of auto drivers in the state. The price is increased to Rs. 30 from Rs. 25 for the first two kilometers and base price per every kilometer is increased to Rs. 15 from Rs. 13
