After protests carried out by Ola and Uber drivers against the aggregators, the Karnataka Government had set up a committee which is expected to come out with new fares next month. The government is planning to fix a minimum fare for taxis. While the government says this is in interest of the drivers, is this what the drivers want? MediaNama spoke to Tanveer Pasha, who is the President of Ola, Taxiforsure and Uber drivers and Owners Association, on what are their demands. Interestingly, this association, which has 55,000 to 60,000 drivers, wants a flat rate that will be applicable throughout the day. Edited excerpts from the interview with Pasha Pasha: The latest development that I heard is that the government is planning minimum and maximum fares. Earlier they had fixed (the) maximum fare for radio taxi Rs 19.50 for an AC vehicle and Rs 14.50 (for) non AC. So when it is already fixed, why are they again going with the minimum fares? We do not understand the reason for this. The last statement I heard was that a minimum rate of Rs 10 for non AC will be fixed, and (it would be) between Rs 11 to Rs 12 for AC. When a maximum price has been fixed, if there is again a minimum price fixed, it will be a very small difference. This will not make a big difference. MediaNama: But the government says that the minimum prices will be fixed in the drivers interest, since Ola and Uber have rates…
