Prepaid auto booth at Chandigarh railway station defunct for want of revised fare

Amarjot Kaur

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Chandigarh, February 15

The delay by the UT Administration in revising the auto fare has prolonged the wait for a fully functional prepaid auto booth, which has been lying defunct since the onset of the pandemic at the city railway station. Consequently, it has added to the ordeal of railway passengers, who are left with no choice but to pay the fare charged by auto drivers.

Proposal under consideration

The proposal for revision of the fare on account of autos/taxis has been sent to the office of the Secretary, Transport, UT, which is under consideration. Till the new rates are notified, the old rates are applicable in the UT Secretary, STA, UT

On February 10, in response to a request by the Government Railway Police (GRP) for revising the rate list at the booth, the Secretary, State Transport Authority, UT Administration, replied: “The proposal for revision of the fare on account of autos/taxis has been sent to the office of the Secretary, Transport, UT, which is under consideration. Till the new rates are notified, the old rates are applicable in the UT.”

The last time the State Transport Authority issued a notification on the new rates of autos was in 2013. Since then, the rates have not been changed, despite a spike in the petrol and CNG rates. On January 22, Chandigarh Tribune had carried a detailed report on the problems being faced by auto drivers, the GRP and passengers because of the old rates displayed at the prepaid booth. At that time, the UT Adviser had said he would soon discuss the matter with the Secretary, STA.

While the auto drivers at the railway station refuse to run their autos on prices listed nine years ago, stating that the price of CNG has gone up, commuters are being made to pay the rates decided by auto drivers. At the railway station, one of the passengers, Anjuni Basra, said, “Since I work in Chandigarh in a private company and my hometown is in Bareilly, I commute via train when I have to visit my parents. The auto drivers quote a bomb even for short-distance travel. From the station to Housing Board Chowk at the entrance to Panchkula, I paid Rs100. Do you think it’s fair?”

One of the auto drivers at the station said, “This is no solution to this problem. If we run our autos as per the 2013 rates, we will earn nothing. This is why we are fixing our own rates.”