Hyderabad: Tough times for commuters as auto fares hiked steeply

Hyderabad: In the absence of resumption of public transportation, more precisely city buses, auto-rickshaw drivers have been charging exorbitant tariff from the helpless passengers.

The standard fare of autos which was earlier Rs 20 has now been doubled for most of the city routes. For a single passenger, drivers are now charging Rs 40 from Abids to Gulzar Houz, Charminar to Falaknuma and Chandrayangutta to Shaheen Nagar. In the case of hiring autos, they are charging a minimum of Rs 100 within 3 km, and for reaching destination for more than 5 km, drivers are charging a minimum of Rs 200.

According to the people who used to avail of RTC services regularly and are now forced to use autos, the lower and middle class people are facing the heat with auto wallahs not agreeing to charge as in pre-Covid days. "Works have resumed and it has been 3 months since lockdown relaxations are being put in place. But still the people are facing inconvenience due to lack of transportation and it is burning a hole in the common man's pocket. The middle class families who mostly travel by buses are facing huge difficulties as there have been no bus services for the six months," said Mohammed Ahmed, a resident of Old City.

The people of Old City working in areas like Kothi, Sultan Bazar, Abids, Punjagutta, Secunderabad and other new city areas are forced to set aside of bulk of their earnings towards auto fares. Cabs are simply out of question. "We bus users are forced to travel by auto and spending a lot money for travelling. This has become a serious concern for the lower and middle class families, the government should at once start buses with Covid-19 norms," said Tabrez, a regular bus user. Another commuter, Madhusudan, said "At last, the Metro Rail has re-started. Now I am using it since last week to reach Uppal. Earlier the auto drivers used to charge a minimum Rs 30 for each passenger and now after Metro Rail started, they have reduced their fare and now they charge Rs 20," he added.

For lower class worker, at least Rs 100 is being spent on going to new city areas from Old City by sharing and changing autos. "Daily around Rs 200 is spent for up-down travelling. The daily wage workers or those working in any store can't afford the charges for using auto or taxi, as their fares are touching sky," said Sai, a security staff at an ATM in Khairatabad. The people who were unable to pay auto fares in the past would be dependent on two-wheelers for lift. But since Covid-19 outbreak, no one is offering lift.

Meanwhile, auto-rikshaw drivers said that they were not wantonly asking for more fares. "Earlier we used to have school and college students and we struggle to make a living as schools are closed. We are facing a lot of difficulties to support our families." And hence the steep hike in fares, they add.