On the mend post-Covid, mobility industry hits speed-bump due to fuel price hike
India Today
The mobility industry, which was counting on a huge revival as Covid cases waned and workplaces opened up, has again facing the heat due to the rise in fuel prices
Over one lakh cabs that ferry corporate workers across the National Capital Region (NCR) are again facing the heat due to the rise in fuel prices. Many in the mobility industry left their businesses during the Covid-induced lockdowns. But with cases waning and workplaces reopening, the industry was counting on a huge revival. However, the fuel price hike has again sent the industry on the backfoot.
A few months ago, when the price of diesel was inching toward the Rs 100 per litre-mark, the industry took a steep nosedive.
“The vendors will increase the per kilometre charge of their vehicles from the next bill. This is what they do to survive the price hike in petroleum products. But the ultimate burden will be on the corporate industry and its employees,” said Ajit Pandey, senior real estate manager at a leading private bank.
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Apart from transportation costs, diesel generators, which are largely used as a backup power source not only in corporate buildings, but also in the high-rise apartments, will also burn a hole in the pockets.
“The estimated outage time is about an hour or so as of now, but as the peak load will increase in summers, outages will also go upward. The diesel generators guzzle gallons of fuel each day and the rising cost of diesel will ultimately affect the per-unit rate of the backup power,” said Rahul Lal, real estate head at a leading corporate firm.
State oil firms hiked petrol and diesel prices by 80 paise a litre, while domestic cooking gas LPG rates were increased by Rs 50 per cylinder on Tuesday. With the revised prices, petrol costs Rs 96.21 per litre and diesel retails for Rs 87.47 per litre. A non-subsidized LPG cylinder will cost Rs 949.50 in the national capital.
