COIMBATORE:
Auto drivers in the city are fuming at the manifold increase in fees and penalties levied on them by transport offices.
The Centre has hiked the fees a fortnight ago sparking an immediate
protest by auto drivers in Mumbai. Now, drivers and owners in the city are also up in arms stating that the hike would not only burn a deep hole in their pockets but would also bring down the number of autos in the state in the long-run.
According to a gazette notification issued by the ministry of road transport and highways on December 29, the fee to renew a driving license which used to cost around Rs 300 has been raised to Rs 640.
The fee to apply for a fitness certificate (FC) which used to cost around Rs 225 has been nearly tripled to Rs 625. At the same time, the
penalty for late renewal of license and fitness certificates, which used to stand at just Rs 100 for two months delay and Rs 150 for 90 days, has been increased 30 times to Rs 3,000 for 60 days and Rs 4,500 for 90 days.
The ministry had felt that the earlier fee, set almost 28 years back, was too small and penalties inadequate to bring compliance among drivers.
But auto unions fear this could be counter-productive. “Already, we have been fined excessively through 2015 and 2016 for not following the fare fixed by the government. With fare aggregators coming in, business has already dropped,” says an auto driver, K Sivaraman. “The fee increase will affect us severely because we have to renew our licenses and fitness certificate every three years,” he says. “A penalty of Rs 50 for a day for people like us who earn just Rs 200 a day is unfair,” he adds.
Consumer activists also say penalties for commercial vehicles can be lesser. “Fee for applying for a new license or renewing a license is alright because they do it only four to five times in their lifetime. But auto drivers who renew their badges once every three years, but sometimes forget to do so, the fee of Rs 50 for a day is expensive,” says activist with Coimbatore Consumer Cause, K Kathirmathiyon.
Regional transport officers (RTOs) say that this new system would ensure people renew their licenses and fitness certificates on time. “This might make them renew their licenses and fitness certificates promptly to avoid a penalty,” said an officer, S Munnusamy.
But auto unions say this would hit the sector. “If people are forced to drive for low fares and shell out so much money in terms of penalties and renewals, the number of autos on the road will start reducing,” says the deputy general secretary of the CITU Autorickshaw Workers Union, Muthukumar.