With petrol and diesel prices rising full throttle, there is no let-up in woes for commuters. The crisis has affected all forms of transport — autorickshaws, cabs and public as well as private transport, making commuting costlier.
The latest hike in fuel prices saw petrol being sold at ₹119.47 a litre and diesel at ₹105.47 a litre at retail outlets in Hyderabad.
With this hike, and purportedly giving into cab drivers’ demands, cab hailing aggregator Uber announced a 15% increase in fare. The company claimed that the move is intended to “cushion drivers from the impact of spike in fuel prices”.
Days before the announcement, a cab drivers’ association had launched a ‘No AC in cab’ campaign, aimed at drawing attention to the plight of cab drivers due to frequent spike in fuel prices.
The Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC) was the first to be impacted by the cumulative effect of fuel price hike. Oil marketing companies, which once accorded rebate to the transport juggernaut, increased diesel prices for them first. Hike of ₹7 per litre for bulk buyers meant that TSRTC would have to pay more than the retail price for diesel. As a result, it began procuring fuel from retail outlets.
“I had to pay ₹15 for commuting from Apollo Crossroads to Check Post, a distance below 2 km. That is just how it is,” a TSRTC passenger said. Now, a less-than-10 km ride aboard a TSRTC bus is likely to cost the passenger ₹25.
Last month, the TSRTC introduced a safety cess of ₹1, which meant that the ticket fare would be rounded off to the nearest multiple of ₹5. More often than not, it was rounded off to a higher multiple. While TSRTC management maintains that the safety cess should not be misconstrued as a fare hike, commuters had to shell out more. For instance, from the fifth stage, a passenger taking a city ordinary bus would have to pay ₹20 instead of ₹15. While a ticket fare hike has not been announced yet, sources said that the TSRTC management sees no other way to make up for the losses.
On the other hand, autorickshaw unions have been demanding a revision in fares. In a representation submitted to the Transport department, they requested that the minimum fare be raised from ₹20 to ₹40 and the per kilometre fare be increased from ₹11 to ₹25. B Venkatesham, a union leader, said the demands were made given the ever-increasing fuel prices.
