CHENNAI: The war in West Asia has hit closer home for auto-rickshaw drivers and passengers who travel on the ubiquitous last-mile travel option in Chennai, as automobile LPG price has shot up to Rs 84 in pumps operated by public sector firms – and even higher at Rs 100 in private firms, said to be the highest ever.
This has a direct bearing on the common public, said Tamil Nadu Auto Rickshaw Workers Federation, affiliated to the CITU, noting that the surge in price has forced auto drivers to charge an extra Rs 10 –Rs 20 per trip.
According to drivers, LPG shortage has been plaguing the city over the last two days, due to which several filling stations remained closed. The situation has not eased even on Thursday, with several private companies shutting their auto gas filling stations. In the few stations that have stock, like some in Egmore, MKB Nagar, and Injambakkam, vehicles were seen parked in long lines and drivers said it took them more than an hour.
“A majority of auto drivers support their families through daily earnings. If gas is unavailable for more than two days, we are forced to borrow money just to run our households,” said S Balasubramaniam, president, Tamil Nadu Auto Rickshaw Workers Federation (CITU).
Before the war in Iran broke out a month ago, the price of gas was Rs 69 per kg. A few days later, it surged to Rs 72 due to supply shortage. It has now reached Rs 84 in most refilling stations, spiking further to Rs 100 in some areas on Thursday.
M Saravanan, an auto driver from Saidapet, said the surge in fuel price has forced them to hike fares. For a distance that usually costs about Rs 70, we now have to collect an additional Rs 10 to Rs 20. This often leads to arguments with passengers,” he said.
Drivers also highlighted that their long-pending demand to revise the government-mandated minimum fare from Rs 25 to Rs 50 for the first 1.8km, and the per-kilometre rate from Rs 12 to Rs 25, were yet to be implemented.
Another driver, M Rudharmoorthi from Ashok Nagar, added that while the government-nominated fee for a Fitness Certificate (FC) for autos is Rs 800, they end up paying Rs 3,500 as the work is done through brokers.