UPSRTC to charge ₹10,000 for taxi rides from Indira Gandhi International airport, Delhi to Noida and Ghaziabad.

UPSRTC MD Raj Shekhar clarified that passengers shall be charged taxi fare for the onward journey from Noida or Ghaziabad post quarantine.

UPSRTC MD Raj Shekhar clarified that passengers shall be charged taxi fare for the onward journey from Noida or Ghaziabad post quarantine.On 9 May 2020, the UPSRTC managing director Raj Shekhar had issued a letter to the corporation’s regional managers in Noida and Ghaziabad informing them that they will facilitate the travel of residents brought back from foreign countries under the Vande Bharat Mission from Delhi airport to Noida, Ghaziabad and other nearby areas. There were multiple reports on both social media and mainstream news media that the UPSRTC was charging Rs 10,000 from passengers travelling via taxi from the Delhi airport to Noida and Ghaziabad. Media had quoted a letter from the UPSRTC managing director Mr Raj Shekhar where it was claimed that travel via taxi from the IGI Airport would be charged at Rs 10,000 for a sedan and Rs 12,000 for an SUV for a distance of 250 kilometres and Rs 40 or Rs 50 for every kilometre from then on depending on the type of car chosen.

However, on 14 May 2020, the Director of UPSRTC has clarified that service from the Indira Gandhi International airport to Noida and Ghaziabad quarantine centres were completely free of cost for passengers, just like all other UPSRTC operations where they are ferrying migrant workers from railway stations to their respective home districts. Further, he stated that after completing their quarantine period if they wanted to travel to their native places within 250 km radius they would be charged for taxi service. He also said that a committee has been put together to further decide on the matter. So, according to the clarification given by the UPSRTC, the order dated 9 May 2020 did not refer to the passengers being charged for their travel to Ghaziabad or Noida from the Delhi airport, but instead they would be charged for their onward journey after completing the quarantine period. UPSRTC further said that this fare for the onward journey of passengers from Noida and Ghaziabad shall be reviewed by a committee and would come to a decision in the coming days while the previously issued order remains in place until the review is concluded.

Update- The earlier version of this fact check had given the judgment as misleading. By retaining the same judgment, the conclusions provided has been updated for clarity.

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