PUSHING EFFECT: If the fuel price pushes more of bicycle use, Chennai's road might be a lot more safer and fuel efficient city. Photo: S.R. RAGHUNATHAN

CHENNAI: Following the Union Government's decision to increase the price of petrol and diesel, organised commercial vehicle operators in the city have either decided to hike fares or protest the fuel price hike.

Omnibus operators will charge Rs.20 extra per seat, says A. Afzal of Parveen Travels.

He says 40 of the big operators will wait for another week to gauge public response to the fare hike and then implement it.

"Small operators will also go for it once we increase the charges," he says.

Call taxis as well as autorickshaws affiliated to the Centre of Indian Trade Union (CITU) will participate in a State-wide protest and strike work on June 13. According to S. Thangam, general secretary of Chennai Perunagar Motor Vahana Thozhilalargal Sangam: "We have been asking for increasing the autorickshaw fare from 1996. But, no government did that. Now the fuel price has gone up so much that we are forced to strike work." The agitations will start with a demonstration on North Usman Road on Wednesday.

The unorganised sector that includes call taxis and tourist cab operators are waiting for their owners to raise rent. Nagarajan of Om Sakthi Travels is confident of his corporate clients increasing the rent, as the fuel hike is more than 50 paise, as specified in the contract.

However, operators such as S. Kannan, who runs vehicles for a company without any contractual agreement, are waiting for their clients to increase the rental. "There are no slab rates. We have to accept their rates as there is lot of competition. The company will take time to increase the rent... till then we have to incur the additional expenditure," he says.

Meanwhile, commuters have already started planning.

Advocate R.K. Prabhu is convinced about the economic and other benefits of taking an MRTS from Tiruvanmiyur to the Beach station. "I used to take my car from Velachery to the High Court. Now that the fuel price has increased, there is no point in taking the car out in this traffic," he says. However, for architect P. Gokulkrishna, travelling is something he cannot avoid.

"I travel nearly 50 km daily, including site visits. Monthly fuel expenditure itself comes to Rs. 6,000. Now that it will go up to Rs, 7,500 to 8,000, I will have to cut our family weekend trips," he says.

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