Another burden has fallen on the common man in Telangana. The transport department issued orders on Friday increasing auto rickshaw fares across the state. It is noteworthy that these fares have been revised after a gap of almost 12 years. According to the new fares, the minimum fare (for the first 1.6 kilometers) has been fixed at Rs. 30. After that, Rs. 14 will be charged for every additional kilometer traveled.

According to these orders, night-time fares have also been revised. Between 11 pm and 5 am, one and a half times the normal fare will be charged. Waiting charges have been finalized at 75 paise per minute for waiting time for passengers. 

Auto drivers have been given three months to convert the existing digital meters to the new fares. In the meantime, the government has ordered that tariff cards with details of the old and new fares must be displayed in autos.

The last time auto fares were revised was in February 2014 during the tenure of the unified Andhra Pradesh government. A government-appointed committee had submitted a report recommending a fare hike in the wake of the increase in vehicle purchase cost, fuel prices, maintenance costs, insurance, and cost of living of drivers. The government has taken the latest decision based on these recommendations. It is noteworthy that the orders for this fare hike were issued on the same day that the common pass for Hyderabad Metro and TGSRTC buses was launched.