Cabs to the airport and even those that ferry thousands of employees to their offices could go off the roads if the Centre does not rollback the hikes in insurance premiums, said transport associations who intensified their strike on Thursday.
A large number of representatives from numerous associations — from tourist taxis to goods lorries — gathered at Freedom Park to deliver an ultimatum. “On Friday, the Finance Ministry has agreed to meet us in Delhi. If they do not rollback the hike in insurance premium, which doubles the amount we have to pay per year for our trucks, we will continue and intensify the strike. Even cabs will stop plying,” said G.R. Shanmugappa, general secretary, South India Motor Transport Association (SIMTA).
The strike, scheduled for Saturday, will see even large numbers of taxi aggregators join in. “Drivers of Ola, Uber, airport taxis, and even tourist and contracted taxis will join the strike on Saturday if the meeting fails,” said Radhakrishna Holla, from the Bengaluru Tourist Taxi Operators Association (BTTOA).
The protestors also demanded that the State government withdraw its decision to charge toll on more than 17 state highways.
