Ola uber drivers go on a Indefinite strike, demands fare hike in Delhi

As Ola and Uber drivers have declared their day-long strike, the commuters in Delhi are set for a rough on Friday. The drivers have demanded to increase fares along with the extra benefits(incentives). Both the taxi drivers with Ola and Uber have a strong passenger base, and every day thousands of commuters use these app-based cab providers to cover distances in the National Capital Region and other metro cities. But with the strike declared for Monday in Mumbai and on Friday for Delhi, the commuters will now need to rearrange their plans.

Meanwhile, the owners of the vehicles have asked both the companies to increase their fares as well as the incentives, as they are now working under losses. The owners added that both the companies had attached almost double the number of vehicles that they actually need, which is affecting their revenues. The drivers claimed that both the companies had assured them profit mounting to Rs 1.5 lakh per month, but now the situation has left them with lots of debt as they fail to pay off even the EMIs of their vehicles.

Last year, when drivers of these cab services went on a strike, commuters relying heavily on these app-based cab services were left with no choice but to pay almost double charges to the auto drivers. “We have proposed our strike on Friday, but our fellow taxi drivers in Mumbai will be observing it on Monday. Sarvodaya Drivers Association President, Kamaljeet said,”We all will fight till we get proper fares and incentives from the companies.

Both the cab(Ola and Uber) providers have now approximately 2 lakh vehicles attached to them, Out of which Ola holds about 1.5 lakh vehicles and Uber holds about 50,000 vehicles. But, both of these taxi providers have increased their fleet about double of what they initially had planned to. A driver partner said, “We want an assured income of Rs 1.5 lakh per month as monthly earnings have dropped to less than Rs 30,000. We want money to pay our EMIs on car loans, besides operational costs. Driver partners are also demanding security by saying this Many tourists taxis have switched to outstation trips or rental business”.