For an hour, ten auto-rickshaw drivers waiting at a stand in Chennai’s Ashok Pillar area did not get a single passenger. They blame the expansion of free bus travel for women by Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s government, saying more commuters are opting for buses, leaving them with fewer rides and dwindling earnings.
Vijay’s government has extended the benefit to additional services, including express and rural buses, fulfilling a key poll promise.
“It’s getting difficult. The complaints come as the TVK government recently expanded a popular welfare scheme of the previous DMK government. S Balasubramaniam, state working president of the Tamil Nadu Auto Workers Association, is among those pressing for intervention. The operators say a revised, government-notified fare structure would protect their livelihoods while bringing greater transparency for passengers.
A Pakkiri, a worried auto driver said that there many like him in Chennai who have seen their business drop by 50 percent. “I used to get 10 to 15 trips daily. Now I get 5 to 6 trips only”. The MK Stalin-government had introduced free bus travel for women on ordinary government buses in 2021.
P Nagoor Gani said he was dependent mainly on street pick ups and not on Ola or Uber. During the launch of the expansion of the free bus rides, the state Transport Minister said the government would look at concerns of all stakeholders including apprehensions expressed by private bus operators.
