The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Rising costs; stagnant income

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Tuesday, May 20, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Rising costs; stagnant income

Deepa H Ramakrishnan

Cab operators and share auto rickshaw drivers find the going tough

Owners bear the hike in fuel cost without passing on the burden to customers

When R. Kuppusamy of Sri Saraswathi Travels started his business nine years ago, a litre of diesel cost just Rs. 11. Today, it is priced between Rs. 34 and Rs. 54 a litre. “In private petrol bunks, a litre of diesel is priced between Rs. 40 and Rs. 54. Sometimes, on long trips, when there are no other bunks in sight, we are forced to buy from them,” he explains.

Also, rentals have not kept pace with rising input costs. The car rental for local use, Rs. 300 (for five hours and 50 km) in 1999, now ranges between Rs. 400 and Rs. 450.

“Our expenses have gone up. Insurance premium that was just Rs. 3,000 a year for new vehicles is now Rs. 18,000. We cannot pass on these costs to the customers. It is not a very profitable business, especially for small concerns,” he says.

In contrast, some share auto-rickshaw drivers seem slightly better off. D. Sivakumar, president of a share auto stand at Guindy, says: “We earn Rs. 700 a day, of which we pay Rs. 350 as rent, and Rs. 150 towards diesel. But weekends are dull for business.”

Share auto drivers N. Murugan and A. Kesavan live in hutments paying a monthly rent of Rs. 600 to Rs. 700. Their children go to government schools. “Two years ago, we charged our customers Rs. 3 for a distance of 3.5 km. Now, we charge them just Rs. 5. We cannot charge more because they would not be able to afford it,” they say.

Share auto drivers, like other daily wage earners, hardly have any savings. Instead, many of them take loans on a daily interest rate. Living standards would improve if they had a vehicle of their own. But, most do not have enough money to make a down payment.

Tourist cab driver A. Ibrahim of Subhiksha Travels earns about Rs. 6,000 a month, hardly enough to manage his home. Seven years ago, when he joined the travel company, his monthly salary was Rs. 1,000. Now, he is paid Rs. 2,000. “My batta on long trips is Rs. 200 a day and our owner has promised to increase it by August. The cost of diesel and petrol have increased phenomenally in the past decade and owners bear the increase without passing on the burden to customers. Because of that, we are paid less and lose out on increments,” he says.

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