K'taka govt meets with Uber, Ola, Rapido; auto-rickshaw union terms it 'eye wash'

Bengaluru, Oct 29 The Karnataka government on Saturday held a meeting with the representatives of cab aggregators Uber, Ola and Rapido over high auto-rickshaw fares.

However, the auto rickshaw union cried foul and dubbed the meeting just an "eye wash".

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of the Principal Secretary N.V Prasad and Transport Department Commissioner THM Kumar of the Transport Department.

Though the details of the meeting were not made public, sources said that requests have been placed before the department to fix Rs 100 per kilometre for auto rickshaws.

The government is all set to fix the fares for cab aggregators in the wake of allegations of charging exorbitant prices. The High Court had also given directions for the government to fix the price within 15 days.

Sources say that the cab service providers are pressing for a 30 per cent hike of fares. However, the Transport Department is maintaining that they have not got any such demands.

The High Court is taking up the matter of fixing fares on November 7.

However, senior advocate Amruthesh, who represents auto unions stated after the meeting that it's just an eye wash. The meeting ended without fixing fares.

He further stated that the meeting was held only to inform the court on November 7 that they had held a meeting in this regard. "For five to six years cab aggregators have been looting the public's money. It was explained in detail in the meeting, but it ended without taking any decision, he added.

The Transport Department has given the cab aggregators a free ride without any restrictions. No auto union leaders have been invited for the meeting, he charged.