As auto-rickshaw drivers held the city’s non-car owners to ransom with their strike for the second successive day on Tuesday, the Delhi government is now looking at introducing radio cabs that would run at the cost of a three-wheeler.

Transport minister Arvinder Singh Lovely told Newsline that the department is trying to introduce CNG-run radio cabs in the “small-car category” and set a fare equivalent to those charged by auto-rickshaws. “We are looking at the option of running cars like Maruti Omni or those with 800-cc engines,” he said, “and the overall cost then would be much lower.”

Radio cab services at present run bigger cars, therefore the higher rates per kilometre of travel, he reasoned.

Officials said the Transport department is studying the feasibility of the project.

The maximum fare per kilometre charged by radio taxi firms like Easy Cabs, Meru Cabs and Mega Cabs is Rs 15 per kilometre. The CNG-run Quick Cabs, with a fleet of 250 Tata Indica cars, charges the lowest fare in the city: Rs 9.50 per kilometre.

Auto-rickshaws charge Rs 4.50 per kilometre.

The Transport department has till date issued permits to 12 radio taxi operators; about 1,500 radio cabs ply in the city at present. In addition, there are 4,500 regular yellow-and-black taxis.