Chennai auto-rickshaw drivers to hold candlelight march today seeking fare revision
Chennai: A revision of auto-rickshaw fares and action on drivers’ concerns will be the focus of a candlelight march by the Federation of All Auto Trade Unions from Egmore to Fort St George in Chennai on Tuesday evening.
The protest will also serve as a tribute to Mohamed Ibrahim, a 61-year-old driver from Vyasarpadi. Before his death by suicide, Ibrahim had released a video urging Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay to raise auto fares.
The unions hope to highlight how rising expenses and changing travel patterns have affected drivers’ ability to earn a living and meet their families’ needs.
S. Balasubramaniam, the federation’s coordinator, said the government had revised fares in 2013. Drivers were operating under that fare structure despite increases in fuel prices, insurance premiums and spare parts costs.
He said the delay in revising fares had placed a burden on individual drivers, whose earnings were being squeezed by higher expenses.
Balasubramaniam alleged that drivers had faced harassment from transport officials and police over the enforcement of meters during earlier fare revisions.
Meanwhile, he said, app-based aggregators, including Ola, Uber and Rapido, charged higher amounts through surge pricing. The federation argued that this disparity had left individual operators at a disadvantage and called for a fare structure that reflected the cost of running an auto-rickshaw.
It also attributed declining earnings to the expansion of Chennai Metro Rail, free bus travel for women and the growth of bike-taxi services, saying these developments had affected demand for auto rides.
According to the unions, mounting household expenses and medical bills, combined with delays in obtaining fitness certificates, had made it difficult for drivers to remain in the profession. Several drivers had consequently left the trade and taken up other jobs, the federation said.
Among its demands are revised meter fares and a government-backed mobile application for auto-rickshaws. The federation also wants the government to regulate or ban bike-taxi services and address alleged corruption in regional transport offices.
The federation said its proposals sought to ease the financial and administrative pressures on drivers, allowing them to sustain their work while meeting vehicle maintenance expenses and other obligations.
It urged the government to respond promptly, warning that delays could worsen the hardship faced by drivers and households. The unions called for measures to address the difficulties threatening their livelihoods.