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Auto Rickshaw
Several app-based taxis and auto rickshaws went on a one-day strike across Maharashtra on Thursday to press for their demands, including fare hikes, a union said, though some users said they did not feel any inconvenience. Dr Keshav Nana Kshirsagar, president of Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch, the union that has been leading the strike, claimed that a large number of vehicles remained off the road due to the strike in cities like Mumbai, Nashik and Pune. The union has demanded fare rationalisation, bringing the rates on a par with those of the conventional black-and-yellow metered cabs, prohibition of bike taxis, and a cap on permits for black-and-yellow taxis and auto rickshaws. A welfare board for drivers of app-based cabs and enactment of a law for gig workers' are among the other demands of the union. Due to the strike, the Mumbai airport parking lot, which remains crowded with app-based taxis, was deserted on Thursday afternoon, said the union. Some passengers, however, claimed
In a move to strengthen his grassroots outreach ahead of the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal invited auto drivers to his residence for tea on Monday. Sharing moments from the gathering on X, Kejriwal in a post in Hindi said, "Today, I invited my auto driver brothers to my house for tea and talked to them openly. Sharing joys and sorrows with them is very special for me. I have an old and deep relationship with them." "No matter what the times have been, we have always supported each other. Their challenges and hard work have always inspired me. We have always worked for them and will continue to work for their convenience in the future as well," he said. The post included photos of Kejriwal interacting with auto drivers, a group widely considered a core voter base for AAP since its inception. Till date, no one has given us, the auto drivers, as much respect as Arvind Kejriwal has, an auto driver said .
The West Bengal transport department has decided to streamline the registration of e-rickshaws and phase out unregistered and illegally manufactured vehicles. The decision was taken in view of representations from various bodies about the plying of lakhs of unregistered e-rickshaws built in workshops without following any standard manufacturing procedures or safety guidelines. A senior transport department official said that district magistrates have been asked to identify battery-operated unregistered e-rickshaws built clandestinely at local garages and phase them out in a time-bound manner. Transport Secretary Saumitra Mohan, in a notice issued on September 12, said, "Representations have been received from different stakeholders in connection with non-compliance of guidelines for registration of e-rickshaws, duly manufactured by different companies including original equipment manufacturers, after obtaining the approval from the competent authority." As per the Central Motor ...
Bike and auto-rickshaw aggregator Rapido has drawn up plans bring on board 200 women drivers over the next three months, the company said on Friday. Currently, Rapido Auto has engaged 50 female 'captains' hailing from diverse backgrounds in the city for its ride-hailing service, and it aims add more than 200 active captains in the next three months through collaborations with various Coimbatore-based non-governmental organisations, the company said in a release. Rapido will equip the women captains with essential safety and driving skills through the comprehensive training programme in collaboration with the NGOs. It also plans to launch micro-loans and family health insurance for women auto captains in Coimbatore, the release added. This initiative would enable women to earn between Rs 800 and Rs 1,000 a day, translating to a monthly income of Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000, it added. "Rapido Auto, as a company, is deeply committed to fostering gender empowerment and inclusivity. Our jour
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday dismissed a petition challenging mandatory uniforms for auto rickshaw and taxi drivers in the city. A bench of Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Subramonium Prasad rejected the petition and orally observed that this amounted to gross misuse of a public interest litigation (PIL). The high court's order came on a petition by Chaalak Shakti, a drivers' union, which has challenged mandatory uniform for auto rickshaw and taxi drivers and alleged that such labelling was in violation of the Constitution. The petitioner's counsel had earlier said prescribing a uniform curtailed the drivers' freedom of expression and also acted as a symbol of their status. The Delhi government's counsel had said certain discipline has to be followed in relation to uniforms. The high court had earlier asked the government counsel to clarify whether khaki or grey coloured uniform is prescribed for auto drivers in the national capital. In its plea, the petitioner
The Delhi High Court has upheld the Centre's decision to levy GST on the services offered by an auto-rickshaw or other non-air-conditioned carriages through electronic commerce operators like Uber. A bench headed by Justice Manmohan dismissed the petitions of Uber India Systems Private Ltd and others challenging the 2021 central government notifications making fare in respect of a booking through the platform of an electronic commerce operator (ECO) for an auto-rickshaw ride or a bus ride exigible to tax. The court said ECOs form a class which is "distinct" from an individual service provider and the notifications, which take away an earlier exemption from tax levy, are in compliance with the object of the GST law to levy tax on every transaction of supply of goods and services. "The Petitioners have not disputed the aforesaid stated objective of the GST law that every transaction must be taxed. Therefore, the impugned Notifications, which seek to withdraw the exemption and tax the
The Delhi government has approved a hike in auto-rickshaw and taxi fares in view of rising CNG prices in the national capital, according to an official statement on Friday. According to the revised fares, the metre down charge (minimum fare) for the initial 1.5 kilometre for auto-rickshaws has been increased from Rs 25 to Rs 30, while the per kilometre charge after metre down has been hiked from Rs 9.50 to Rs 11. For taxis, the per kilometre charge after metre down has been hiked from Rs 14 to Rs 17 for non-AC vehicles and from Rs 16 to Rs 20 for AC vehicles. The last revision in the auto-rickshaw fares happened in 2020 while that for taxi which includes black-and-yellow taxi, economy taxi and premium taxi happened nine years back in 2013. Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot had received many representations from the auto-rickshaw and taxi associations and unions on the issue of hike in fares.
The Karnataka High Court on Friday directed the state government to fix the fare for app-based auto-rickshaw hailing services within 15 days. The authorities last week ordered online aggregators like Uber, Rapido, and Ola to immediately stop their services for auto-rickshaws. The aggregators were also warned that action would be initiated if autos were found violating the order. The government had contended that auto-rickshaws were not covered under the license issued under the Karnataka On-Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules in 2016. ANI Technologies Private Limited, which is offering service through Ola app, and Uber India Systems Private Limited had challenged this before the HC in two separate petitions. Justice M G S Kamal, who heard the petitions on Thursday, suggested that the authorities and the companies arrive at a compromise and make a common submission. The government had agreed to talk to the aggregators. On Friday, the HC directed that the government