An impending kaali-peeli fare hike for autos and cabs from February 1 will punch a hole in commuters’ pockets. This though does not seem to be the most taxi-ing (pun intended) for city slickers. The auto fares will go up from Rs 23 to Rs 26 as base and for cabs from Rs 28 to Rs 31. After the first 1.5 km of the base fare, cab rates will increase from Rs 18.66 to Rs 20.66. For autorickshaws per km, it is a hike from Rs 15.33 to Rs 17.14.

Colaba’s Cynthia D’Mello, who is a daily cab commuter, taking a kaali-peeli cab from Colaba to her Fort office, said, “At the outset, it will be 31 is no fun. I am sure people will not pay Rs 31 and give the cabbie Rs 30 only as the R1 change will be difficult to find. The cabbie may have to make do with less. Now, though, many commuters still give cabbies Rs 30 for minimum fare, forgoing the R2 if the cabbie does not have change,” said D’Mello. The officer-goer added, “I think everybody deserves a ‘raise’ in salary and prices have gone up everywhere… this hike has come after a few years. Even our taxi wallahs have families etc. to look after, and bills to pay. I guess we have to fork out a little more overall but I guess that is fine.”