THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ministerial meeting has decided to hike the minimum fare for auto rickshaws to Rs 25 for the first one and a half kilometres. New taxi minimum fare will be Rs 175 for the first five kilometres.

Keralakaumudi on November 25 had reported the new minimum fares of autos and taxis. Currently, the minimum charge for auto rickshaw is Rs. 20 while for taxis it’s Rs 150.

Also the present fare for every extra kilometre in an auto rickshaw is Rs 10. This will be hiked to Rs 13. The taxi fare for exta kilometre will rise from Rs 15 to Rs 17.

However the Ministerial meeting declined the recommendation of Justice Ramachandran Commission to fix the new minimum rates of auto rickshaw and tax at Rs 30 and Rs 200. The meeting evaluated that a sudden increase in fares will be a massive burden for the common man.

The fares were hiked after requests from auto-taxi drivers owing to the increase in fuel prices.

These fares were last hiked on October 1, 2014. Minimum charges were increased to Rs 20 from Rs 15 for auto rickshaws and taxi fares saw a hike to Rs 150 from Rs 100.