Uber Mumbai General Manager Shailesh Sawlani said an internal survey has revealed that nearly 35 per cent of their drivers are former radio taxi, auto-rickshaw and even black-and-yellow taxi drivers w
Uber Mumbai General Manager Shailesh Sawlani said an internal survey has revealed that nearly 35 per cent of their drivers are former radio taxi, auto-rickshaw and even black-and-yellow taxi drivers who have shifted to Uber for a better life.
Mr Sawlani was defending what Uber stands for and said that if the company was as bad as was being portrayed by black-and-yellow taxi drivers/driver unions, this shift would not have happened. He said that state transport had not been able to keep up with the needs of people driving these vehicles that traditionally came under the state’s purview.
“We did a small survey of our partners (drivers) and found 35 per cent of them to be ex-taxi, auto and radio taxi. This shift wouldn’t have happened if the drivers themselves didn’t see something better in terms of earning and life,” said Mr Sawlani.
Unions like Swabhimaan Sanghatna, headed by Nitesh Rane, on November 18, had barged into the Chakala office of Uber’s competitor Ola and vandalised it. The same day, a protest was held by the oldest and largest taxi union, Mumbai Taximen Association (MTA).
However, this hasn’t slowed down the number of commuters using Uber in the past six months; the usage witnessed a surge especially after the September 1 strike of black-and-yellow taxis that paralysed the city and left the common man with very few options, one of them being Uber.
Mr Sawlani said they were open to dialogue with the state about passenger security, where Uber had agreed to give police full access to the whereabouts of their drivers. However, they were criticised for putting up a lot of conditions for this access.
