A passenger pays auto fare after a trip in Patna on Sunday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, Nov. 6: The residents of the city heaved a sigh of relief with autorickshaw drivers deciding not to raise fare despite the recent petrol price hike.

Patna Zila Auto Riksha Chalak Sangh officials today said an increase in the fare structure would have been inconvenient for the common men who travel by autorickshaws everyday.

Petrol price has gone up by Rs 1.9 a litre in the city following the latest hike. At present, a litre of petrol costs Rs 71.12 in the city.

“More than the commuters, the autorickhaw drivers would have felt the pinch if the fare was raised. At present, about 15,000 autos ply in the city everyday. Half of these vehicles run on diesel,” Patna Zila Auto Riksha Chalak Sangh president Raj Kumar Jha told The Telegraph.

“The price of petrol has gone up. But there has not been change in diesel price. If drivers of autorickshaws running on petrol charge more, the commuters will switch over to diesel autos,” he added.

Rajkumar also said the state government was operating over 80 Bihar State Road Transport Corporation (BSRTC) buses on diesel. “The commuters do not depend on autos alone. They have a lot of option. If auto drivers start charging more, they will switch over to other vehicles. Keeping this in mind, we decided not to change the fair structure. Autos running on petrol are suffering huge losses. But there’s no option,” he added.

Rajkumar said the association did not want the autorickshaw drivers to suffer more losses. “As far as the price rise of petrol is concerned, we are against it and want a rollback. We have submitted a memorandum to the state government, urging it to allow us run autos either on LPG or CNG. This option is cheaper than running vehicles on petrol or diesel. LPG or CNG will be the best option for the autodrivers,” he added.

The residents, on the other hand, are happy with the auto-drivers’ decision not to increase the fare. “We should thank them for not charging more despite the hike in petrol price. It appears that they are concerned about people’s plight, unlike the Centre. Tell me how many people in the country can afford such steep hikes. The government’s decision to increase the petrol price reflects its anti-people stand,” said Rakesh Kumar, a resident.

Vivek Raj, another commuter, said: “If the auto drivers increase the fare, we have other option to travel. The state government is already running several buses on almost all routes. I do not think that there is any need to press the panic button as far as autorickshaw fare is concerned.”

Nitish slams Centre

Chief minister Nitish Kumar today attacked the central government over the recent hike in petrol price and blamed its faulty policy for the price rise across the country. “Increase in prices of petrol and diesel has caused high inflation, which has hit the common man hard,” Nitish said.