Kolkata: Auto services to start in full swing from today, commuters fret over possible rise in fares – Times of India

KOLKATA: Gearing up for full fledged service from Thursday after the one-and-a-half month long restrictions, many auto operators are still worried whether they will get enough passengers during non-peak hours as educational institutes are shut and several firms are continuing with the Work From Home (WFH) module. Commuters are also worried over the fares. Last year, the resumption of auto services saw a hike in fares on different routes. The auto unions are already indicating a rise in fares, citing the hike of LPG gas price by around Rs 13 from last year and the 50% passenger cap.
The auto drivers and regular commuters on two of the most popular routes in the city — one in the south and the other in the north — are echoing the same problems. A ride from Behala to Gariahat now costs Rs 30 —up from the Rs 21 that was charged even a year ago. The passengers said the auto operators demand Rs 35-40 after sunset and they are expecting the fares to go up further. Dipta Sarkar, who commutes on this route and travels to her office near the Basanti Devi College, called up a few drivers and learnt that three passengers would be allowed and they would have to pay total. “That means each passenger will have to pay Rs 40. The logic behind raising the fares last year from Rs 21 was to cover the loss of the fourth passenger. If I have to pay even more now, I do not know how I will manage. I have already suffered Covid paycut at office,” she said.

Auto operator Gopal Das from Chetla, who plies on this route, said, “Where are the passengers except in morning and evening? I was once thinking of selling off my auto. The cost of gas has increased and we have been sitting idle for so long. Carrying emergency patients and medical staff is not enough to sustain my family.”
On the Salt Lake-Karunamoyee route, the auto drivers are not too hopeful of getting the same returns as about a month-and-a-half ago. “Local trains are our backbone. Unless the train services resume, profits can never be the same,” said an operator. The union here claimed that they are going to follow three stages of fares — Rs 10-Rs 15-Rs
20. “We were charging Rs 10-20 from passengers. The introduction of Rs 15 is to give passengers a breather as they are also affected financially by the pandemic,” said the operator.
Diya Bhattacharya, a commuter recounted, “ An auto demanded Rs 60 from me for a travel from Ultadanga to Karunamoyee in July last year. I was told either to accept or wait for a bus.”
Animesh Bhattacharya, who had to travel from Phoolbagan to the same destination, was charged Rs 35 about a week ago when autos were officially not allowed to ferry passengers. “It sounded arbitrary since each auto operator asked for a different fare. As I complained at the auto stand, I was told that those were flying autos and not affiliated with the union,” said Bhattacharya.
INTTUC auto union leader Madanmohan Ghosh assured that there will not be any hike in auto fares. “We are not hiking the fares. But at a time when the price of gas is costlier, the reduced number of passengers have to adjust and pay fares that will cover four passengers,” he said.