Ola, Uber likely to hike fares after fuel price rise

BENGALURU: After private bus operators announced that they would hike fares, now cab fares are expected to increase as well, raising fears of another fare hike for passengers. App-based cab services like Ola and Uber cab fares are also likely to increase on the back of the hike in petrol and diesed prices.

The government-fixed rate is currently Rs 22 per kilometre, but some cab drivers are already charging passengers more than this. Now, the aggregatorcompanies themselves are considering increasing the fares.

Private bus operators have already decided to increase fares by 10-20 per cent. For every 150 litres of fuel purchased daily, the operators incur and additional Rs 450 per trip. Hence, following the hike in petrol and diesel prices, bus fares have been increased. As a result, ticket prices have gone up by Rs 100-200.

Apart from this, school van fares are increasing by 10 per cent, which is another shock for parents already distressed by rising costs. The hike will come into effect from next month. Fares for state travel passenger vehicles are also set to increase by 10-15 per cent as per the Karnataka State Travel Operators Association. There are 3.5 lakh passenger transport vehicles across the state.

Not only that, groceries and vegetables are also becoming costlier with vegetable and fruit prices likely to increase by 5-10 per cent and grocery prices may rise by 2-5 per cent due to increased transportation costs. Online delivery may see a surcharge hike of Rs 2-5.