The Tamil Nadu government has doubled the minimum auto-rickshaw fare to Rs 50 for the first 1.8 km, with Rs 25 for every additional kilometre.
The Home (Transport-I) Department issued the notification on Tuesday in a Gazette extraordinary, directing transport authorities to implement the new rates.
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It is the first change to the meter fare in 13 years.
The new structure replaces rates set in August 2013, when the minimum charge was Rs 25 for the first 1.8 km and Rs 12 for each subsequent kilometre.
The per-km rate has therefore risen by about 108%, while the minimum fare has risen by 100%. On a 5 km ride, the fare would rise from roughly Rs 63 to about Rs 130, before rounding.
Other charges have changed too. Waiting time will cost Rs 1 a minute, and night fares between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. will be 1.5 times the regular fare. For ghat roads, the base fare is Rs 60, with Rs 30 for each additional kilometre.
The decision follows years of pressure. The CITU-affiliated Tamil Nadu Auto Workers Federation has pushed for a revision since a 2022 Madras High Court order directed the state to update fares.
Drivers have held strikes and fasts. Some have charged Rs 50 as a base fare on their own, though only a small number did. Unions argued that fares no longer covered costs, citing fuel, insurance and maintenance, and competition from app-based aggregators and bike taxis.
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The final figure sits between the two sides. At a tripartite consultation in July, unions asked for a Rs 70 minimum, while passenger organisations wanted Rs 50.
After another round of talks on 27 August, unions submitted a chart seeking Rs 60-70 for the first 1.5 km and Rs 25-30 per additional km. The government has settled on the passenger groups' base fare and the unions' per-km rate.
Unions had also called a protest on 19 September to demand a time-bound order.
Transport minister A Vijay Tamilan Parthiban had told drivers a few days ago that fares would be revised before Deepavali. The state has about 3.46 lakh auto-rickshaws, and the new rates will apply to all of them.
For commuters, the short-hop fare doubles, and late-night and ghat journeys cost more again. Whether drivers actually use meters, long a complaint in Chennai, will decide how much of the revision shows up in practice.
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