Before the current committee was set up, rickshaw and taxi fares were controlled by a complex formula laid down the PMA Hakeem Committee, and agreed upon by the trade.
The presence of cab aggregators like Uber and Ola, no fare hike for auto-rickshaws-taxis since July 2015, and the need to have fares accepted by both, drivers and commuters, means the four-member fare committee has a tightrope walk to pull off.
Speaking to DNA, BC Khatua, Chairman of the committee agreed as much. "It is far more complex than at the time of the Hakeem Committee because of the presence of aggregators. The calculations have to be robust so that every stakeholder (rickshaw and taxi drivers) is satisfied. We have already had two stakeholder meetings in Mumbai and several more are lined up in other cities like Pune, Nashik and Ratnagiri," Khatua said.
He said that despite a mandate of three months given to the committee to submit the fare report, there are chances that it would take longer. The committee started its internal meetings in November and the first of the meetings with the rickshaw and taxi union was only held in January.
Before the current committee was set up, rickshaw and taxi fares were controlled by a complex formula laid down the PMA Hakeem Committee, and agreed upon by the trade. The formula took into account insurance, depreciation, repairs, cost of living, consumer price index and CNG prices, giving all of them a particular dynamism to come up with a paise per kilometre result.
The Hakeem Committee formula laid down that if the cost of operations per kilometre was 50 paise or more when calculations are made every year in April, then in May, the trade would get a fare hike. However, as highlighted by DNA, the formula in 2016 threw up an increase in cost of operations of 49 paise. It meant the rickshaw and taxi trade went without a hike in 2016.
Unions like the Mumbai Rickshawmen's Union led by Thampi Kurien had put the daily loss at Rs 85 lakh per shift in 2016, due to this lack of a fare hike.
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