The Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government has notified the revised fares for auto-rickshaws and taxis (black and yellow top). As per the notification dated January 9 by the Delhi Transport department, commuters will need to shell out more money while travelling via auto-rickshaws as well as air-conditioned and non-AC taxis.
As per the revised rates, commuters travelling by auto-rickshaw will now have to pay Rs 30 for the first 1.5 km instead of the existing rate of Rs 25. The per kilometre fare after the first 1.5 km has also been increased by Rs 1.50, i.e., from Rs 9.50 to Rs 11.
Additionally, night charges – for trips between 11 pm and 5 am – will be an extra 25 per cent of the fare while the waiting period will be clocked at 75 paise per minute in traffic. Luggage, barring ‘shopping bag’ or ‘small suitcase’, will be charged at Rs 10 per piece.
Similarly, taxi fares have also been revised upwards. While a fare of Rs 40 fare will be charged for the first kilometre instead of Rs 25 earlier, commuters travelling by AC taxis will have to shell out fares at a rate of Rs 20 per km, up from Rs 16 per km. On the other hand, travel through non-AC taxis will be dearer by Rs 3 at Rs 17 per km, up from the rate of Rs 14 per km.
Night charges for travel between 11 pm and 5 am will be charged at the same rate as auto-rickshaws for both AC and non-AC taxis, the waiting charges will be levied at Re 1 per minute, while luggage will be charged at Rs 15 per piece, with the same exceptions as those applicable to auto-rickshaws.
The last time that the fares for auto-rickshaws was revised was in 2020 while the fares for taxis were hiked in 2013. The revision has been a long-standing demand of the unions. There are around 93,00 autos and 80,000 taxis in Delhi. The fare revision will not apply to vehicles being run by cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber.
“Increased cost of CNG-led autos and taxis to drive fewer kilometres, which impacted supply. Revised fares will help them support families and provide convenience to passengers,” Delhi Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said in October.