As fuel price rises, income of vehicle-driven job holders sees sharp drop
HYDERABAD: The rise in petrol and diesel prices is making lives increasingly difficult for those dependent on vehicles to earn their living. App-based cabs and bikes, autorickshaws and app-based food delivery executives say they are no more able to make both ends meet.
The list of grievances is long. Most of the cabs are financed by banks. At the start of each month, they have to pay the EMIs. Food delivery boys make Rs 650 through 20 trips in 13 hours. Of this, they shell out around Rs 300 on fuel. Auto driver unions ask for the fare hike if a reduction of fuel prices is not possible.
Thirty-eight-year-old Laxmi, a resident of Kushaiguda, drives a SUV for an app-based company. Two years back, Laxmi lost her husband due to chronic lung infection. From then on, she’s the sole bread earner for the family and will have to raise her daughter and son.
The rise in diesel prices has made her life difficult. “The fare remains the same while the diesel price is going up and up. I make a trip of 20 km on average a day. After the commission taken by the app operator, I get Rs 350. From this, close to Rs 200 is going for fuel.”
Laxmi asks: “How can I pay the EMI of Rs 22,000? I will also have to pay my house rent and fees for children’s education.”
“The lockout has made our lives tough. The corporate companies’ shuttle service arrangements for their staff have been cancelled. Now, the prices of fuel are making our lives tougher.”
Sathi Reddy, member of the autorickshaw drivers joint action committee, said, “The fuel prices are rising day by day. But the fares remain the same. The minimum fare is Rs 20 and for each subsequent kilometre, it is Rs 15. There are more than one lakh autos in the city. Our appeal to the government is to either decrease the fuel prices or increase the fares.”
Santosh Naik, a food delivery boy, said, “For the past three years, I have been working as a food delivery boy for am app-based company. The companies are paying us Rs 15 per order for a distance of 2.5 km. I spend 13 hours a day to have 20 orders delivered. Out of this deal, I make around Rs 650. But, from this, the spend for fuel is about Rs 300. The situation is the same with all the food delivery boys.”
