Chennai Gets Metered Autos

During my talk at the Takshashila Chennai Shala in 2011 (related Pragati article here), I had argued that the underlying reason for market failure in Chennai autorickshaws was regulatory failure. Despite costs for auto rickshaws going up significantly, I had argued that the regulated fare was a lowly Rs. 7 per kilometer, because of which no auto rickshaw in Chennai traveled by meter.

In the same talk I had argued about the benefits of having a regulated fare (no time wasted in haggling, etc.) so this new move by the Tamil Nadu government to regulate auto rickshaw fares is welcome. Note at the end of the article that someone from the Auto Rickshaw Drivers union has welcomed the new fares. This, and the fact that the fare has been set rather high (compared to other Indian cities) should hopefully lead to wide uptake in the use of meters among auto rickshaws in Chennai.

This stabilization in price, I argue, will lead to greater use of auto rickshaws by the general public (since there is no uncertainty now) and should also contribute to greater revenues for the drivers, thus creating a strong ecosystem.

The graph below compares the per kilometer auto rickshaw fares in different cities in India. Note here that Chennai is the most expensive. My argument, however, is that given the unregulated market that is in place now, this higher fare is a reasonable price to pay for good regulation and fair fares.

 

autos

One thought on “Chennai Gets Metered Autos”

  1. I stumbled upon this article when I was searching for the law that mandates private autos to be metered. A few points:
    1. This increase in fare and hype around the metered autos seems to be a failure, at least as far as the initial response is concerned. MOST autos still operate in old, haggled fares. Helplines and police intervention are as useful as they are in other fields.
    2. An auto driver asked me a question which I had never thought of and I am still unable to find answer for. Why should government regulate auto fares, when they don’t regulate call taxis, private cabs, private vehicles etc. His argument is, he is investing private money in buying and running auto, he is not getting ANY doles or protection from the government. When I told him he has a choice, he reiterated what he said earlier. Why should govt regulate auto fares?

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