Following complaints about taxi aggregators charging excess fare, the transport department has booked over 90 cases. But they have been booked against the drivers who have attached their vehicles with Ola, Uber and other operators, and not the aggregators, which has drawn the ire of many. Officials say there are legal hurdles, and the aggregators cannot be booked for fare violations.
“We have been receiving complaints about taxi aggregators charging fares more than what has been fixed by the State government. Now, our officials are enforcing the rules and booking the cases,” said Transport Commissioner N. Shivakumar.
“A total of 94 cases have been booked so far. They are filed after checking the bill generated on the mobile app of passengers and drivers. In many cases, our officials found that excess fares of ₹50 to ₹70 were being charged. The cases have been booked taxis attached to Ola, Uber, and other taxi operators,” said joint commissioner (Bengaluru Urban) K.T. Halaswamy.
Ashok, a taxi driver said, “It is wrong that the department is making drivers responsible. Drivers have no control over fixing of taxi fare, and they collect the fare shown on the mobile at the end of the trip. Some drivers have also said that department officials have impounded vehicles.”
As per the government notification on fares for aggregators, for ‘D’ category vehicles (costing below ₹5 lakh), basic fare is ₹75 for the first 4 km, and ₹18 to ₹36 for every subsequent kilometre.
For “C” category vehicles (costing from ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh), it’s ₹100 for the first 4 km, and ₹21 to ₹42 for every subsequent kilometre.
For ‘B’ category vehicles (costing from ₹ 10 lakh to₹ 16 lakh), ₹120 is the fare for the first 4 km, and ₹24 to ₹48 for each kilometre thereafter.
For ‘A’ category vehicles (costing above ₹16 lakh), ₹150 is the basic fare, and ₹27 to ₹54 for every subsequent kilometre.
The aggregators have to fix fares within the range of minimum and maximum fare. The State government had also allowed the aggregators to collect GST and toll from the passengers. No fare can be fixed based on time taken to complete the trip. There is no waiting charge for the first 20 minutes, thereafter, ₹10 can be charged for every 15 minutes.
