Drivers of app-based cabs are intensifying their ongoing strike with a protest at Azad Maidan on Friday, demanding fare rationalisation, a ban on bike taxis, and gig employee protections. Companies throughout Maharashtra have been severely impacted, with experiences of passengers stranded.
The continued strike by drivers of app-based cab aggregators like Ola, Uber, and Rapido is ready to accentuate on Friday, with a sit-in protest deliberate at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai. The stir, which started on Wednesday, has already disrupted companies throughout the Mumbai Metropolitan Area, Pune, and Nagpur, inflicting inconvenience to passengers, particularly at airports and railway stations. The Mumbai airport operator had suggested travellers to test transport availability and make alternate preparations.
Dr KN Kshirsagar, president of the Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch, stated practically 70% of app-based cabs had been off the roads on Wednesday, leaving solely a small variety of automobiles accessible for reserving. “The cabbies will sit on protest at Azad Maidan from Friday to additional intensify their agitation. No deliberations have taken place with the federal government after the assembly with state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik on Tuesday,” Kshirsagar stated.
Key calls for of protesting cab drivers
The protesting drivers are in search of:
- Rationalisation of fares to carry them on par with typical black-and-yellow taxis
- An entire ban on bike taxis
- A cap on the variety of black-and-yellow taxi and auto-rickshaw permits
- Formation of a welfare board for app-based drivers
- Introduction of a Maharashtra Gig Employees’ Act, just like legal guidelines in different states
Stories of coercing different drivers
Some citizen teams have claimed that drivers taking part within the strike are pressuring others to hitch. The Chandivali Citizen Welfare Affiliation shared a video on social media purportedly displaying placing drivers abusing a colleague for persevering with to function his cab through the protest.
The strike is anticipated to affect commuters additional because the protest strikes to central Mumbai on Friday.
(With inputs from PTI)
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