By IANS
New Delhi : The Delhi government has held out a strong warning against private buses, autos and taxis that are charging from commuters the new fares that have been announced but not officially implemented yet.
The State Transport Authority (STA), which oversees Delhi's public transport network, said owners of buses, autos and taxis fleecing commuters would be fined at least Rs.600 or have their vehicles impounded if complaints are made against them.
"We have not issued any notification on the revised price structure. Charging extra before the notification is illegal and action can be taken against offenders," STA Secretary S.S. Sidhu told IANS.
"We encourage commuters to complain on our dedicated phone number 4240 0400. Erring bus owners can be fined and the bus may be impounded as well," he said, adding that both STA and Delhi Traffic Police would take action against the violators.
On May 31, the Delhi government recommended a revised fare structure for buses, autos and taxis.
It was announced that the Rs.2 bus ticket would go up by one rupee while the fare structure of other tickets would remain the same.
Auto-rickshaw fares were recommended to go up from the existing Rs.8 at start to Rs.10 and for every additional kilometre to Rs.4.50 from Rs.3.50.
The fare for black-and-yellow taxis was hiked from Rs.13 to Rs.15 for the first kilometer and for every additional kilometre to Rs.8.50 from Rs.7.00.
The fare increase cannot be implemented until the government issues a gazette notification. But already many buses, autos and taxis in the city have started charging extra money from harried commuters.
The Indian capital is home to over 3,100 DTC buses, nearly 4,500 private buses, 1,200 RTVs and over 50,000 auto rickshaws besides thousands of taxis.
Each bus carries 1,000 to 2,000 passengers a day, and 51 percent of the commuters go for Rs.2 tickets. If an extra rupee is charged by a bus illegally, it will end up making Rs.500-1,000 a day extra without authorization.
Similar earnings by autos and taxis would be much more – since their announced new fares are on the higher side.
Many people are already complaining that they are getting cheated – and don't know who to turn to for justice.
"A private bus charged me Rs.3 instead of Rs.2 for traveling between Munirka and R.K. Puram," said Pradip Mallik, a bus passenger.
"The conductor insisted that the government had already notified the new slabs. In fact he took Rs.3 from four passengers," he added.
Ajit Kumar, another commuter, said he had to pay Rs.100 to an auto driver for going from Noida Mode in east Delhi to Sarojini Nagar in south Delhi, just 16 km away.
"None of the auto and taxi drivers is ready to put on the meter. I think the government should take into account all this before hiking fares," Kumar said.