BROUGHT TO A HALT

Ola and Uber drivers, under the banner of Maharashtra Rajya Rashtriya Kamgar Sangh, went on a strike from Monday afternoon. Most drivers logged out of their company apps, after their protest outside Uber office at Kurla West.

The strike will continue on Tuesday too as union activists said they won’t call off the strike until the government and companies meet their demands

WHAT DO THE CABBIES WANT

Monthly income of Rs1.25 lakh, as committed by Ola and Uber in the beginning

Reinstatement of drivers, who were blacklisted for petty reasons

No preference to companyowned cars over their vehicles

STRIKE FOUR

(approx) App-based cabs

in Mumbai This is the fourth strike of Ola and Uber drivers since the beginning of 2017

The drivers’ unions first went on strike on March 10, 2017, and later on September 19, 2017

The third strike was on March 19, 2018

aggregators have hiked their commission and reduced the per km fare. Kute said, “The per km fare rate is ₹6.5 per km, which is lower than the earlier ₹8.3 per km. So now we get ₹4.50 a litre,” said Kute.

Drivers have said they were A minimum fare of Rs100-150, depending on the type of service, and there onwards Rs18-25 per km

Similar incentive schemes for all types of cabs

Reduction in commission charged by the company

THE IMPACT

(approx) App-based

cabs owned by Ola and

Uber Most cabs were off the road Passengers couldn’t book vehicles, with the app saying ‘no cabs available’

Waiting time was more as compared to other days Surge pricing (Rise in charge depending on demand)

initially promised a monthly income of ₹1.25 lakh by Ola and Uber, but are now getting only a fraction of that amount. Also among their demands are a fare hike to match the increased fuel prices, ban on hiring new cabs, and allowing only Aadhaar-verified customers to book cabs.

Initially, the drivers’ agitation had received a poor response. MRRKS announced a protest outside the Uber office in Kurla on Monday morning, but only about 100 drivers showed up.

By Monday afternoon, however, the flash strike had gathered momentum. Union sources said more than 80% drivers went off the road.

Uber’s official statement said, “We regret the disruption caused to our rider and driver-partner community, due to a small group of individuals.” Ola has not issued a statement so far. Transport commissioner Shekhar Channe said the authorities have no role to play since the issue is between the drivers and aggregators. “They have not approached us on the issue,” Channe said.