Commuters are going to have a hard day on Monday (February 13) in New Delhi as drivers working with taxi aggregators like Ola, Uber are poised to hold a bigger strike than on Friday (Feb 10).
Also read: Uber, Ola refuse to withdraw ride-sharing services in Bengaluru
Cabbies protested at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi on Friday demanding a hike from the existing rate of Rs 6 per kilometre. Around 300 cab drivers protested during the day and said that no commercial taxis and auto-rickshaws will be allowed to ply in Delhi-NCR if their demands were not met. Two leaders of a taxi drivers' association also sat on a hunger strike over the issue.
One of the leaders said they charge less than auto-rickshaws that charge Rs 8 per kilometre but yet have to pay 25 per cent commission to the company, hence making little profit.
Meanwhile, Friday's strike put commuters under a lot of inconvenience and they had to shell out extra bucks to manage rides to their destinations.
"First, I did not get any cab for 5 minutes which is unusual. When I finally got one, prices were 12 times the normal," a commuter, who was travelling from South Delhi to Noida, told the Hindustan Times.
"A small group of people are disrupting the Uber service in parts of Delhi, and there have been isolated reports of threats and intimidation. We are working hard to ensure reliable rides are available for everyone and we can keep the city moving. We call on authorities to ensure the safety of both the riders and drivers," a Uber spokesperson said.
Ola did not comment on the issue.
One of the problems faced by the drivers is that they are not being able to pay the loan instalments on their vehicles because of the low pay and which too comes after a lot of hard work.
"They (Ola/Uber) have given us such big targets that we have to work 24 hours or sometimes even more. Otherwise, we do not get any payment," said Hira Singh, a Uber driver.
The drivers also complained that the companies never come to their aid in case of an accident or a police complaint.
"Uber did not come out in support of the driver who died in the recent BMW accident. They didn't give any compensation. In fact, we proposed to contribute from our income and give some money to the family of the victim. For that we asked some support from them, but that also was rejected," said Ravi Rathod, another driver.
