Hundreds of autorickshaw and yellow-black taxi drivers staged a protest at Central Delhi’s Jantar Mantar on Thursday against the alleged leeway given by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi government to those behind the wheels of app-based taxis being operated by Uber and Ola.
Sanjay Samrat, the president of the Delhi Taxi Tourist Transporters’ Association, alleged both the Delhi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party dispensation at the Centre were allowing app-based platforms to function in spite of questions regarding the legality of their operations.
“These companies continue to do brisk business, while drivers of autorickshaws and yellow-black taxis are facing the prospect of committing suicide as they continue struggle to make ends meet,” Mr. Samrat claimed.
“If both governments allow, these apps can be shut. However, none of them want to listen,” he alleged, claiming that several unions had brought the issue to the notice of both the Delhi government as well as the BJP-led Central government, but in vain.
Attacking app-based operators for “swindling” the general public through surge pricing, Mr. Samrat alleged that the authorities had “shut their eyes to the issues being faced by average auto and taxi drivers” as app-based aggregators continued with business as usual.
