Bengaluru: Even as commuters are miffed over Ola and Uber not informing them about the strike, some drivers have begun going back to the traditional cab operators’ association as their livelihood has been affected.
Even though taxi drivers and aggregators have been up in arms against each other over various issues ranging from incentives to fares, the situation worsened on Wednesday after customers were asked to get down midway through their commute and the Uber office was attacked.
This led to an increase in the number of commuters hailing autorickshaws. M. Manjunath, president of Adarsh, Autorickshaw and Taxi Drivers Union, says, “There has been a marginal increase in people using autorickshaws during the last two days. We have requested drivers to ply by the meter only.”
Many commuters were angry over Uber and Ola not informing them about the strike.
“Many of us did not know that drivers had started a protest. The app showed no cabs and only through media we came to know. The government is remaining a mute spectator stating that it is a problem between the company and drivers,” said V. Kushal, a resident of Indira Nagar.
“Government cannot brush away the responsibility of solving this issue. This is because commuters are affected. Commuters have become dependent on app-based taxi services. Now they are exploiting the situation. The taxi aggregators have the responsibility to inform their customers about the protest,” says M.N. Sreehari, transportation expert.
Christian Freese, General Manager, Uber Bengaluru, said, “Cancellation fees will be waived in Bengaluru until drivers get back to work and commuters can book cabs easily. It is currently hard to get around the city. This is because a small group of people are preventing driver partners from going about their business.”
Even as commuters struggle, some drivers are returning to tourist cab operators due to the impact of the strike on their income.
Tanveer Pasha, a coordinator for Ola-TaxiForSure-Uber (OTU) Drivers’ and Owners’ Union, said that they have been waiting for the government to intervene, but in vain. “We are losing on our daily income. Many drivers-cum-owners have to pay instalments on vehicle loans. Our vehicles may be seized by financiers soon,” he said.
Some drivers, who are in dire need of money, have started going back to the traditional cab operators, says Tanveer. “They will get long trips and can earn some money. But they have been asked not to ply for Ola or Uber. If we see some car on the app, we book them and tell them not to ply,” he said.
R.K. Holla, president of the Bangalore Tourist Taxi Operators’ Association, said that there are nearly 1.50 lakh cabs in the city. “Out of this, over 75,000 ply for corporates. The rest ply for taxi aggregators. Out of this, some drivers are coming back to us,” he confirmed.
