Most pvt taxis stay off roads

Mumbai: Most Ola and Uber cabs stayed off the roads on Tuesday morning, as the drivers’ strike continued for the second day. Thousands of citizens, especially office-goers, were greatly inconvenienced. The surge fares for the cabs that were available in many parts of the city were very high. The Maharashtra Rajya Rashtriya Kamgar Sangh (MRRKS),which has called the strike, said the stir would continue till the cab aggregator companies do not fulfill the demands of Ola, Uber drivers over base price.

MRRKS secretary Sunil Borkar said, “The strike will not be called off as the drivers of Ola and Uber cabs are saying that the demands of the base price should be increased by the aggregators. We are not resorting to violence as a means to get our demands fulfilled.”

Mr Borkar claimed that 70 to 75 per cent cars were off the roads on the second day of the strike. The protest is likely to continue on Wednesday.

The  city has around 50,000 app-based cars. The drivers of the cars were demanding that a minimum base fare be raised to `100 to 150 depending on the range of the car, while the per kilometre fare should be within the range of `18 to `23.  

Shraddha, a working woman, who was travelling from Kalina to Dahisar, said, “Charges were higher as the Ola driver insisted on changing location when asked to deviate from the road map. I paid `450. But ideally, it should not have cost me more than `350.”

An Uber spokesperson said,  “We regret the disruption caused to our rider and driver-partner community and condemn the use of violence and intimidation by certain individuals. The Bombay high  court had previously issued an injunction restraining unions, their leaders, members and their followers from preventing Uber driver partners from going about their work. We request the support of the law enforcement machinery to enforce the order.”

The spokesperson added, “We remain committed to serving the city and ensuring rider and driver safety at all times while giving riders a convenient, reliable option to get around the city.”  

This paper also tried to contact Ola spokespersons, but did not receive any reply. Meanwhile, Shekhar Channe, state transport commissioner said, “Neither the cab
aggregators nor the drivers have approached us over the strike.”