TN Auto Fares Doubled: Sell Your Auto Now

On Tuesday 27 October 2026, the Tamil Nadu Home Department (Transport-I) published revised autorickshaw fares in the Government Gazette, issued under Section 67 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 as G.O. (Ms.) No. 366. The new minimum fare is Rs. 50 for the first 1.8 km, and every kilometre after that costs Rs. 25. The previous tariff, Rs. 25 for 1.8 km and Rs. 12 per km, dated from 25 August 2013. In plain terms, the minimum fare has doubled and the per-kilometre rate has roughly doubled. For anyone who owns, drives or is thinking of buying a used auto in Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai or anywhere else in the state, the arithmetic of the vehicle has just changed.

What Tamil Nadu Notified on 27 October

The notification, reported by Public TV English, ANI, Zee Business and Indian Opinion on 27 and 28 October 2026, sets a single revised structure for contract carriage autorickshaws in the Chennai Metropolitan Area and the rest of the state. It supersedes the Home Department notifications of 25 August 2013 and 16 October 2014 and directs the State Transport Authority and the Regional Transport Authorities to implement it.

The headline figures are the Rs. 50 minimum and Rs. 25 per kilometre, but three other changes matter just as much to a driver's daily earnings. Waiting time is now charged at Re. 1 per minute, against Rs. 3.50 for every five minutes earlier. Night fares, which earlier applied from 11 pm, now begin at 10 pm and run to 5 am at 1.5 times the regular fare. And ghat roads, which matter for autos working hill routes in places like the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal, carry a Rs. 60 base fare and Rs. 30 per additional kilometre.

The revision followed a long process. The Transport Department held a tripartite meeting in July, district-level public consultations on 23 September, and a final review on 23 October, after which union representatives told DT Next that the government had assured them the revised fares would be announced before Deepavali. Driver unions had sought a higher minimum, consumer groups had argued for Rs. 50, and the notified figure landed at the consumer groups' number with a higher per-kilometre rate. Both sides made their case through the consultation, and the outcome is now the law of the state.

A worked example: the 5 km trip

Take a typical hop from Egmore to T. Nagar, roughly 5 km. Under the 2013 tariff the meter would read Rs. 25 for the first 1.8 km plus 3.2 km at Rs. 12, which is Rs. 38.40, for a total of about Rs. 63. Under the new tariff the same trip is Rs. 50 plus 3.2 km at Rs. 25, which is Rs. 80, for a total of Rs. 130. The driver earns a little over twice as much for the same distance, the same fuel and the same time. Add a five-minute wait in traffic and the old meter added Rs. 3.50; the new one adds Rs. 5. After 10 pm, the Rs. 130 fare becomes Rs. 195.

Those are meter fares, and anyone who has taken an auto in Chennai knows the meter was not always the number paid. But the notified tariff sets the floor for what a permitted, metered auto legally earns, and that floor has just moved a long way up.

Why a Fare Revision Moves the Used Auto Market

An autorickshaw is not a car. Nobody buys one for the pleasure of owning it. It is a working asset, and the price a buyer will pay for a used one is tied directly to what it can earn. When the legal fare per kilometre roughly doubles, the earning power of every permitted auto in the state rises overnight, and the value of a used auto with a valid permit tends to follow.

Three groups of buyers come into the market after a change like this.

1. Drivers who rent and now want to own

A large share of autos in Chennai are driven by people who pay a daily rent to the owner. Under the old fares, the daily rent ate most of the margin and a loan EMI on a used auto looked risky. (This article is general information, not financial advice. Check loan terms with your lender.) With the new tariff, the sums for owning rather than renting look better, and a clean used auto with a permit is the natural first purchase. These buyers are price-sensitive, know exactly what they are looking at, and want the paperwork to be straightforward.

2. Owners upgrading from old petrol or LPG autos to CNG or electric

Fuel is the biggest running cost, and the unions' memorandum of 23 October specifically asked for more CNG filling stations. Owners who have held onto an older petrol or LPG auto because the fares did not justify a change are now more likely to move to CNG or an electric three-wheeler. Every one of those upgrades puts a used auto onto the market and takes another used auto off it. Our buyer checklist for used e-rickshaws and e-autos covers what to look at if the upgrade is electric.

3. Owners exiting at the right moment

Some owners are retiring. Some run two autos and want to consolidate to one. Some have simply been waiting for a good moment to sell. The weeks after a fare revision, when buyers are actively searching and the earning story is fresh, are that moment. Waiting for a specific price is a gamble; listing while demand is visible is not.

What a Used Auto Buyer in Chennai Checks First

Buying a used auto is a paperwork exercise before it is a mechanical one. A three-wheeler with a tired engine can be fixed for a few thousand rupees. A three-wheeler with a lapsed permit, a lender's name still on the RC or a stack of unpaid challans can cost far more than that to regularise, and in some cases cannot be regularised at all. Here is the order a careful buyer works in.

1. Read the VAHAN record. Type the registration number into the Rs. 99 RC check before you pay a token. It shows the registration status, owner serial, registration date, fitness validity, lender flag and blacklist flag from the official record. An auto that shows BLACKLISTED or CANCELLED is a walk-away. A SUSPENDED status or a lender flag is a conversation, not a deal.
2. Check the permit. An auto carries passengers for hire only under a contract carriage permit issued by the Regional Transport Authority. Ask to see the permit, check its validity date and the region it covers. A permit valid for one region does not let the auto work another. Our tip on checking an auto's permit and registration walks through this.
3. Check the fitness certificate. Transport vehicles need a valid fitness certificate, renewed periodically at an RTO or an Automated Testing Station. An auto whose fitness has lapsed cannot legally run, and the renewal fee rises with the delay. The ATS fitness testing guide explains how the test works.
4. Check for hypothecation. If the RC shows a financier, the seller must produce the lender's NOC and Form 35 so the hypothecation can be terminated. Do not pay in full until the lender's name is off the record or the NOC is in your hand.
5. Check pending challans. Working autos accumulate challans. Under the notified fares, a buyer who inherits unpaid fines inherits a problem that can block the transfer. The Full Report at Rs. 149 returns the RC fields and pending challans together.
6. Check insurance. A transport vehicle needs at least third-party cover, and the policy should be current and in the seller's name. A lapsed policy is a renewal cost and an inspection delay.
7. Check the meter. After a fare revision, meters have to be re-set to the new tariff and sealed. Ask whether this auto's meter has been recalibrated, and if not, factor the visit into your plans. The Regional Transport Authorities will set out how and when this is done; confirm the local procedure with your RTO.

What a Seller Must Have Ready

If you are the one selling, the list above is your list too, read from the other side. Every item a buyer will check is an item you can have ready before the first enquiry, and a seller who hands over a complete file sells faster and closer to the asking price.

Ownership transfer: Forms 29 and 30

The registration transfers through Form 29 (notice of transfer, signed by the seller) and Form 30 (application for transfer, signed by both parties) at the RTO where the auto is registered, along with the original RC, valid insurance, valid PUC, address and identity proof of the buyer, and the transfer fee. Sellers should keep a copy of the submitted Form 29 and a signed delivery note with the date and odometer reading. Until the transfer is recorded, challans and liabilities still point at the registered owner.

Permit transfer: Section 82

This is where an auto differs from a car. The contract carriage permit does not pass automatically with the vehicle. Under Section 82 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, a permit can be transferred to another person only with the permission of the Regional Transport Authority that granted it. The buyer and seller jointly apply, the RTA considers it, and the permit is endorsed in the buyer's name. In practice the registration transfer and the permit transfer are usually filed together. Confirm the application form, the fee and the processing time with your RTO, because practice varies across regions in Tamil Nadu, and ask whether the RTA has set any conditions for permits in your area. Our guide on yellow plate permit renewal covers the renewal side, which a buyer will also ask about.

Loan closure: NOC and Form 35

If the auto was bought on finance, close the loan and collect the lender's NOC and signed Form 35 before you list. A financier's name on the RC is the single most common reason a serious buyer walks away, because it means the sale cannot complete until a third party acts.

Fitness, insurance and challans

Renew a lapsed fitness certificate before you list rather than discounting the price for it; the buyer will discount by more than it costs. Make sure the insurance is current. Clear pending challans, because the buyer's Full Report will show them and because the RTO may hold the transfer until they are paid. Our piece on cargo autos and permit and fitness dates makes the same point for goods three-wheelers.

Chennai, Coimbatore, Madurai: Who Is Buying

The notified tariff applies to the whole state, but the used auto market behaves differently in each city.

Chennai has the deepest market. The 2013 order was written specifically for the Chennai Metropolitan Area, and the new order names it first. Buyers here are often drivers moving from rent to ownership, and the first thing they ask about is the permit region, because a Chennai permit is the one they want. Share-auto routes and app-based bookings add a second class of buyer who cares about the vehicle's fuel type and running cost more than its age.

Coimbatore and the western belt see more owner-drivers and more family-held autos sold on retirement. Buyers tend to be local, know the seller's stand, and value a complete service history. The Nilgiris ghat routes make the Rs. 60 ghat base fare and Rs. 30 per km relevant here in a way they are not in Chennai.

Madurai and the southern districts have a market where older petrol and LPG autos are still common, and the move to CNG or electric is only beginning. A well-kept CNG auto with a valid permit is scarce and finds a buyer quickly; an older LPG unit needs honest pricing and complete paperwork.

In every city, the same rule applies: the auto with the permit, the fitness and the clean VAHAN record sells first. The used vehicle listings in Chennai show how buyers browse the city market.

What This Means for Used Vehicle Sellers and Buyers

For sellers, the fare revision is a demand signal. The legal earning power of a permitted auto has roughly doubled, drivers who were renting are looking to own, and owners upgrading to CNG or electric are shopping. The owners who benefit most are the ones who list in the weeks after the change with a complete file: valid permit, current fitness, current insurance, no lender on the RC, no pending challans, and a meter ready for the new tariff. List it verified for Rs. 99, let the buyer see the VAHAN record on the listing, and sell it yourself with no commission.

For buyers, higher earning power is good news only if the auto can legally earn. Run the Rs. 99 RC check before the viewing, read the permit and fitness dates, check hypothecation and challans, and treat anything that is lapsed as a cost to negotiate rather than a surprise to discover after the transfer. A used auto bought with clean paperwork under the new fares is a sound working asset; one bought on a handshake is a gamble.

This article is general information and not legal or financial advice. Fare figures are as notified in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette on 27 October 2026 and as reported by the sources named; implementation details, including meter recalibration, are for the State Transport Authority and Regional Transport Authorities to set out. Transfer and permit procedures, forms and fees differ by region; confirm them with your RTO, your insurer and, if the auto was financed, your lender before you sell or buy.

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