Strike

Ho-hum, woke up to another Tuesday morning. Nothing unusual. I went through my morning routines and was prepared to have just another work day, but the auto rickshaw unions of Mumbai had other plans for me. All of a sudden, they decided to go on a 'flash' strike. Later in the day, I realized that the taxi unions were also involved and furthermore, my brethren in the rajdhani were also suffering the same. Still later in the day, I read that the strike had been called off. WTF, right?

This got me thinking about the veracity of this entire episode. Were these fuckers fornicators justified in holding the world's best city along with India's capital to ransom just like that? Intuitively, the answer was no. But I thought I had to have proof. So, using the awesome power of Google and Microsoft Excel, I did exactly that.

Mumbai

CNG currently sells at Rs. 24.65/kg and its new price is expected to be Rs. 31.47/kg.

Since we measure fuel consumption and engine efficiency in liters, it'd be prudent to convert the costs accordingly.

The density of CNG is 0.55-0.65 kg/lit. Assuming an average value of 0.6 kg/lit, a kilogram of CNG roughly translates to 1.67 liters of the same. So, the cost used for all calculations is Rs. 14.76/lit (old) and Rs. 18.84/lit (new).

The auto fares are Rs. 9 for the first kilometer and Rs. 5 for every subsequent kilometer. The unions want to increase these to Rs. 15 and Rs. 8 respectively. 

Let us conservatively assume an engine efficiency of 25 kmpl. (A very very low estimate. Actual figures border the 35 kmpl mark).

Given all this, if a passenger in Mumbai hires an autorickshaw to travel to his destination 3 km away, lets look at costs in the present fuel regime.

For a distance of 3 km, the fuel utilized would be 3/25 = 0.12 liters.

Fuel cost for the rickshaw owner = 0.12*14.76 = Rs. 1.77

Fare for the passenger = 9+2*5 = Rs. 19

Now see what will happen if the government accedes to the rickshaw unions' demands.

Fuel utilized = 0.12 liters.

Fuel cost for the rickshaw owner = 0.12*18.84 = Rs. 2.26

Fare for the passenger = 15+2*8 = Rs. 31

This means that for an 27% increase in fuel cost, the passenger is being charged 63% more. Is this justified?

In the case of taxis, let us assume a fuel efficiency of 15 kmpl. For the same distance of 3 km the equation is once again stacked against the passenger. The present regime charges Rs. 14 for the first kilometer and Rs. 7.5 for every subsequent kilometer. The proposed regime hikes these figures to Rs. 16 and Rs. 9 - Rs. 11 respectively.

Fuel consumed = 3/15 = 0.2 liters.

Fuel cost for the taxi driver = 0.2*14.76 = Rs. 2.95 under the present regime and 0.2*18.84 = Rs. 3.77 under the proposed regime.

Fare for the passenger = 14+2*7.5 = Rs. 29 at present and 16+2*11 = Rs. 38 under the proposed regime.

Once again, the passenger pays 31% more while the taxi owner's fuel costs go up by 28%. This is also one of the reasons why taxi drivers refuse to ply short distances. As the distance goes up, the benefits to the taxi driver increase.

Delhi

Since Delhi autos and taxis hardly ply on the government approved rates, it's morally wrong for them to go on strike. I am not going to waste space here showing you how in a hypothetical world, where Delhi autos and taxis actually use the meters installed in their vehicles, the passenger would still end up paying a lot more. Seriously, they should quietly continue to fleece people like they always have, otherwise for the want of a nail the shoe will be lost.

Now I do understand that there are a lot of other expenses involved in owning a rickshaw / taxi. There are maintenance charges, EMIs, emergency charges, routine family expenses etc. But, haphazardly increasing fares is not going to help any of that. If anything, once they start earning more they'll start spending more too and overall, will remain in the same place financially. And how is going on strikes going to help? They'll end up losing whatever money they were making in the first place!

I hope I have now convinced you just how royally we are being fucked fornicated with. I encourage you to show these numbers and calculations to everyone who cares to know. I am hopeful that someone in a position of power will see this and realize that the only rides passengers can be taken on are the ones that they want to go on.

Notes:

1. Pliss to bring to my notice any factual / mathematical errors asap.

2. CNG Prices courtesy TOI
3. CNG physical properties sourced from MGL 
4. Auto rickshaw engine efficiency data obtained here
5. Auto rickshaw fares courtesy rediff news
6. Mumbai taxi fares courtesy HT
7. Delhi taxi fares courtesy sify finance

There is more to this strike than meets the eye. In Mumbai, this strike was orchestrated by Mr. Nitesh Rane, who happens to be the son of veteran politician Mr. Narayan Rane. This was obviously an attempt to bring him into mainstream politics from the fringe worlds he currently inhabits. The taxi and auto owners, poorer by a day's earnings were mere pawns.