Hundreds of thousands of commuters were hit as more than 80,000 drivers of app-based ride hailing taxi operators Ola and Uber went on strike in Mumbai yesterday, an official said.
“The strike has been launched from midnight in support of various demands of the drivers who are being meted out injustice by the companies. If the government fails to intervene, they will go on an indefinite strike,” Sanjay Naik, president of Maharashtra Navnirman Vahatuk Sena (MNVS), said.
The MNVS is affiliated to Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
He said that several thousands of drivers of Ola and Uber had also joined the protest in Aurangabad, Nashik, Pune and other cities in Maharashtra as part of an all-India strike.
The worst-hit were people going to the airport or railway stations, besides local commuters rushing for business meetings.
Naik claimed that both Ola and Uber had promised big returns of more than Rs125,000 per month to the drivers who invested between Rs500,000 and 700,000.
“Now the situation is that many drivers earn barely half the promised amount which is not even sufficient to cover their costs. The drivers are practically on the verge of starvation owing to the mismanagement by the two companies,” Naik said.
Moreover, the companies give preference to their own vehicles rather than the driver-owned cars, which has led to a steep decline in the latter’s business.
Owing to these, Naik said there has been drop of more than 20% in Mumbai alone of the cabs running on this platform, hitting both the drivers and the commuters.
The MNVS has appealed to the Mumbai commuters to make alternative arrangements and “support the fight for justice” by the Ola and Uber drivers.