There have been several problems in the city due to the taxi strike, particularly near the train and airport hubs. The indefinite strike by Mumbai taxi drivers employed by Ola, Uber and Rapido continued on Friday.
The drivers intend to increase their protest in Azad Maidan on Friday, as the strike is currently on its fourth day. The drivers have also threatened to stay on strike until their demands Mumbai are fulfilled and have demanded from the administration to provide them with assurances.
“The cabbies will sit on a protest at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai from Friday to further intensify their agitation. No deliberations took place with the government after the meeting with state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik at Mantralya on Tuesday,” he added. The Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch has demanded rationalisation of fares, bringing fares on par,” Dr KN Kshirsagar, president of Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch said.
He added that, โalmost 70 per cent of app-based cabs remained off the roads across the region, leaving very few vehicles for booking on Wednesdayโ. As per a mid-day report, โon Thursday, around 90 per cent of the vehicles were off the road due to the strike. The drivers have called for assurance from the government and have stated that they will continue their strike until their demands are metโ.
Videos of striking drivers pressuring coworkers who are riding along to join the strike have also gone viral on social media.
How come taxi drivers are on strike?
So earlier this week, drivers who work for the app-based taxi services Ola, Uber and Rapido declared an indefinite strike in support of their demands for pricing rationalisation. The purpose of this demand is to raise the taxi drivers’ and ride fares to match those of Mumbai’s meter-run abs and cars.
The workers’ five main demands are:
- Equality with metered taxis by rationalisation of rates.
- No bike taxis
- Auto and taxi permits are limited.
- A taxi and cab driver welfare board
- Application of the Gig Workers’ Act of Maharashtra.
The strike focusses on Nagpur, Pune and the Mumbai Metropolitan Area.
Get real time update about this post category directly on your device, subscribe now.
