TN govt revises auto-rickshaw fares, fixes minimum charge at Rs 50

Chennai, Oct 28
The Tamil Nadu government has revised auto-rickshaw fares for the Chennai Metropolitan Area and other parts of the state, fixing the minimum charge at Rs 50 for the first 1.8 km and Rs 25 for every subsequent km.

The revised structure, set out in a government gazette notification, also specifies waiting charges and separate rates for night journeys and travel on ghat roads.

The State Transport Authority and the Regional Transport Authorities concerned have been directed to implement the fares. Under the regular tariff, passengers will pay Rs 50 for journeys covering up to 1.8 kilometres. Beyond that distance, the fare will increase at the prescribed rate of Rs 25 per kilometre. Waiting time will be charged separately at Rs 1 per minute. For example, a regular journey of 3.8 kilometres would work out to Rs 100 before waiting charges, comprising the Rs 50 minimum fare and Rs 50 for the additional two kilometres. A waiting period of 10 minutes would add Rs 10 under the notified waiting rate.

Passengers travelling between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. will be charged one-and-a-half times the regular fare. This represents a 50 per cent surcharge during the specified night hours.

On that basis, a regular fare of Rs 100 would become Rs 150 for a journey attracting the night tariff.

The notification provides a different fare scale for journeys involving ghat roads. The minimum charge for such travel has been set at Rs 60, equivalent to 1.2 times the regular minimum fare of Rs 50. The additional distance charge on ghat roads will be Rs 30 for every kilometre, compared with Rs 25 under the regular tariff.

Both the minimum fare and the subsequent per-kilometre rate for ghat-road travel are therefore 20 per cent higher than their regular counterparts.

The government issued the notification under Section 67 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, placing responsibility for implementation with the State Transport Authority and the relevant Regional Transport Authorities.

The fare schedule sets out the amounts payable for the initial distance, subsequent travel and waiting, while identifying the higher charges applicable to night services and ghat-road journeys.

For passengers, the final amount will depend on the distance covered, any chargeable waiting time and whether the journey attracts the special rates specified in the notification. The Rs 50 minimum remains the starting charge for regular auto-rickshaw travel within the framework.