The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Cost escalation inflates their miseries

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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Cost escalation inflates their miseries

Inflation has hit not only small-time drivers but cab operators also

— Photo: R. Ashok

Testing times: A group of van drivers operating from the Central Bus stand in Tiruchi.

The rising prices of essential commodities and petroleum products have their adverse impact on every section of the society; the worst-hit are the unorganised labourers who do not have an assured income and the inflation has added to their miseries.

Taxi-drivers and van operators here account for one core group who have been struggling hard to meet their expenses for their daily family budget and also the maintenance of their vehicles.

The increase in the prices of diesel and petrol has virtually caught them between the rock and a hard place. Neither could they increase the fare nor operate their services at the present charges. The price rise had affected them so much that every one involved in this trade confesses that they don’t hope of coming out of the red anywhere in the near future.

Scores of drivers of cars and vans at the stand of the Anna Tourist Drivers Association near the Central Bus Stand have been virtually idling for the past few weeks. This despite the city, being in the heart of the State, with a good strength of floating population that includes devotees and tourists.

No other trade has been hit so badly as this segment in the prevailing inflationary conditions. Both the Centre and State governments imposed taxes on different commodities only once a year during the time of annual budget. But gasoline is the only product to be the prime victim of government’s policy attributing it to the global scenario. The government seems to forget that this hike always has a cascading effect with a chain reaction on every other service or commodity, they say.

K. Natarajan, a taxi driver for the past four decades, says that to meet his daily incidental expenses such as breakfast, he accepts short distance trips from the Central Bus Stand to Hotel Sangam, Government Hospital for a meagre fare of Rs.20 on the line of auto-rickshaws. “We have never come across such testing times. Added to this is the rise in the prices of tyres and other spare parts. The price of tyre and tube has increased from about Rs.1,500 to Rs.1,900 in the last few months. The price of engine oil has shot up by Rs.70 per litre from Rs.140 to Rs.210”.

Marginal increase

Most of these operators are forced to either retain the pre-hike tariff to retain their clientele or introduce a very marginal increase in their charges. Any steep increase in our bill in order to meet the repeated increase in the gasoline prices would drastically reduce the number of our customers. Of late, many regular customers prefer buses and trains to reach outstations.

R. Sasi, a van driver, said he has been idling for more than a week, his last trip being on July 18 to Gunaseelam. Still worse was the case of another van driver R. Ravi, who went to a long distance trip to Thottiyam a fortnight ago. They have to take loans from private money lenders to make both the ends meet. “Prior to the inflation, we used to get frequent trips to the destinations outside the district. But they have become scarce, despite only a very marginal increase in the fare structure. Even our regular customers say that they have been badly hit by the increase in the price of each and every essential commodity and are not in a position to spend for the cars now”.

The inflationary trend has not only hit the small time drivers, but also the cabs operators.

“There is a fall in our revenue as a good percentage of our customers have stopped utilising our services”, says a leading cab operator in the city.

The only saving grace for these operators and drivers is the State government’s gesture in introducing a downward revision in the quarterly tax from the previous Rs.6,300 to Rs.3.400.

This has given us a great relief, observed Mr. Sasi.

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