Ola and Uber drivers to go on strike against the cab-hailing giants on March 19
Passenges might face difficulty across the country again, Uber and Ola cab drivers have threatened to switch off their devices and go on a strike. A local resident and cab driver of Maharashtra is ready to organise the protest and stated that from 8am onwards, drivers will be shutting their devices down. The strike will take place at Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Gurgaon would start the march on March 19th. This time, the cab drivers will protest with their families outside the offices of the cab-hailing giants.
The local resident of Mumbai added, “Over the years, the businesses of these drivers have slumped due to the mismanagement of these companies. If they do not take our demands seriously then this protest can be indefinite.”
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The union demands that Ola and Uber should ensure business worth Rs 1.25 lakh as assured by them in the beginning, stop company owned cabs immediately, reinstate drivers with lower ratings and to decide fares according to the vehicles and stop low fares. People in tier 1 cities have always preferred using the app based option for transportation as the prices are low and the security factor comes into play. However, this protest will result in a long waiting period for cabs and mostofall, the price surge on the day is going to skyrocket due to the number of demands.
The banks that provided loans against these cabs have seized the vehicles as drivers are unable to pay the loans and spend on their family, even after driving 12 hours a day.
In Mumbai, alone, there are over 45,000 cabs due to the recent slump there has been a fall of 20 percent in the number of cabs running in the city.
According to a recent published report Uber holds 50 percent of the Indian market share while Ola Cabs stand at 44.2 percent. The revenue generated by the ride-sharing segment will amount to $371 million by the end of this year and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 19.6 percent resulting in a market volume of $761 million by 2022. Currently the user penetration is at 2.5 percent and is expected to reach the 3.9 percent mark by 2022.
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First published: 15 March 2018, 17:27 IST