If you live in Mumbai and depend on private cabs for your day-to-day commuting needs, you may want to (temporarily) start looking at alternative modes of transportation. The drivers of Uber and Ola, two of the country’s biggest app-based ride sharing platforms, have threatened to go on strike, starting as soon as today (October 21). News of a strike being planned initially surfaced two weeks back, so it may finally happen.
According to a report by Hindustan Times, the drivers want a hike in both minimum fare and per km charge. While the drivers want minimum fare to be between Rs 100 to Rs 150, their demand for per km charge is something between Rs 18 to Rs 23, based on the type of car. The cabbies have reportedly planned to protest outside Uber’s office in Kurla and Ola’s office in Andheri.
“Most drivers participated in our meeting (held last Saturday) and were in favor of an indefinite strike. But we will announce our future course of action during the protest, depending on what most drivers want,” Sunil Borkar, secretary of Maharashtra Rajya Rashtriya Kamgar Sangh, was quoted as saying. It’s a union of app-based cab drivers led by Nationalist Congress Party’s Sachin Ahir.
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Currently, the fare structure for both Ola and Uber is lump sum-based and is not known to passengers. As per Hindustan Times, there are approximately 45,000 to 50,000 app-based cabs in the capital city of Maharashtra, so a strike could spell trouble for a lot of passengers who depend on them.
