Taxi unions have written to chief minister Mamata Banerjee and transport minister Suvendu Adhikari asking for a fare hike, following a steep hike in the diesel price that has only compounded their sufferings inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The diesel price has gone up from Rs 65.62 a litre on June 1 to Rs 75.18 on Thursday.

Officials of the transport department on Thursday met taxi operators and sought time till July 14 to arrive at a decision on revising fares. “We will hold talks with taxi operators over the next few days to understand the challenges they are facing,” an official said.

The Bengal Taxi Association, one of the organisations that has written to Mamata and Adhikari, has threatened to go on strike from July 16 if the government refuses to revise fares by July 14.

“We have demanded that the existing fare of Rs 30 for the first 2km be revised to Rs 50,” said Bimal Guha of the Bengal Taxi Association. “Thereafter, the average rate of Rs 15 per km be revised to Rs 25.”

The Progressive Taximen’s Union said they would wait for the government’s decision on fare hike before taking a call on whether to go on strike or not.

“Let the transport minister invite representatives of all taxi operators and hear them out so that the government clearly understands our plight,” said Sambhu Nath De, the general secretary of the Progressive Taximen’s Union.

Calcutta has around 14,000 metered taxis and the demand for a fare revision has been gaining ground for some time now. In May, taxi operators had proposed a 30 per cent additional charge on metered fares. The government turned it down.

The Bengal government had last revised taxi fares in 2018, fixing the starting fare, for the first 2km, at Rs 30.

“The number of trips has reduced by almost 40 per cent,” said Abhishek Shaw, a taxi driver from Bhowanipore. “Besides, the diesel price is shooting up. It has never been so bad for taxi drivers.”