A section of cab drivers, who have been working for cab aggregators such as Ola, Uber, and more recently UTOO, want the Tamil Nadu government to fix minimum fares for call taxis and radio taxis on the lines of rates fixed for autorickshaws.
“The government should fix rates for call taxis as well, as these rates are unregulated. Private companies like Ola and Uber are taking customers for a ride. By regulating the pricing, it will reduce friction between customers and drivers,” A.P. Anbazhagan, secretary, CITU Transport wing, said. The government should fix per kilometre charges, he suggested.
One-day fast
Nearly 150 drivers took part in a one-day fast organised by the CITU at Valluvar Kottam alleging that radio taxi companies were misleading drivers to sign up with them while profiteering at the expense of the drivers.
“One of our demands is that companies like Ola do away with the Minimum Business Guarantee (MBG) model, under which, drivers have to do at least 18 trips per day with 7 trips in peak hours. Doing seven trips during peak hours, between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m., is not possible. Drivers get to lose out on the money promised by the company if they are not able to complete 18 trips,” Mr. Anbazhagan alleged.
He claimed that the companies take as much as 27 per cent as commission from trip charges.
Fix cap on commission
“We want the government to fix a cap on the commission earned by these companies as well. We want this to be reduced to seven per cent,” he said.
The drivers also wanted the companies to fix a daily salary for them and resolve customer complaints through conference calls.
‘Some cab aggregators are taking the drivers for a ride, charging high commission for trips’
