Ola, Uber back on roads, cab union claims strike on

New Delhi: A day after the High Court directed the management of Ola and Uber to negotiate with drivers on strike, the arrival time for a cab on both apps fell by half. The striking union, however, claimed it had not called off the strike.

Ola, on its app, sent out a push message saying: “We are back in full strength”. Cabs on Uber were available in many parts of the city, thought it flashed a 10-minute wait period as the estimated time of arrival. Both aggregators refused to comment.

Cabs, however, were scarce at peak hours with only share and pool services available at the time. “I had been waiting for this share cab, the only one available, for the last 40 minutes and I have a movie to watch. I won’t make it in time,” said Eric, a consultant, who boarded an Uber at Greater Kailash.

Rahul Singh, an Uber driver, said, “The court said drivers and the two aggregators will sort out the problems next week so we decided to ply our cabs today. The week-long strike has made us lose Rs 7,000-10,000. But we had to get people to listen.”

President of the Sarvodaya Driver Association of Delhi Kamaljit Gill said they have not called off the strike, and will intensify agitation if the court-directedtalksdonotbearfruit.“me and my associates are ill. I have not eaten for eight days. We are in hospital but the strike is very much on,” Gill said. ENS