The driver’s association started the protest last Wednesday which brought the ride-hailing services in Mumbai and other parts of the state to a standstill.
Drivers of app-based taxis like Ola and Uber have temporarily suspended their ongoing strike in Mumbai and other cities of Maharashtra.
Keshav Nana Kshirsagar, president of the Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch, told PTI that the strike was being suspended till tomorrow to give time to the Maharashtra government to respond to their demands.
“We have only suspended the strike, not called it off. If our demands are not accepted by Tuesday, services will be shut again,”
Kshirsagar said.
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch has reportedly said that commuters will be charged as per the rates fixed by the government on which the conventional black and yellow taxis operate, instead of the rates shown on the Ola, Uber and Rapido apps.
Additionally, the association has also demanded commuters to use onlymetre.in to avoid over charging by cab aggregators.
The driver’s association started the protest last Wednesday which brought the ride-hailing services in Mumbai and other parts of the state to a standstill.
The drivers have demanded rationalisation of cab fares, bringing it at par with the conventional cabs, prohibition of bike taxis, a cap on the permits to cabs and auto rickshaws, formation of a welfare board for drivers of app-based cabs and enactment of the ‘Maharashtra Gig Workers’ Act’ on the lines of other states.
The driver associations claim that app-based aggregator drivers get INR 8 to INR 12 per km for driving an AC taxi while the base fare of regular cabs is INR 31, with a subsequent fare of INR 18 per km. They demand similar rates for themselves.
The suspension in the strike will bring some respite to commuters in the state. According to various reports, during the protest, passengers faced issues such as surge in prices of public transport and commuters being asked to deboard the cabs in the middle of the ride.
The protests by app-based cab drivers comes at a time when the Maharashtra government has given its go ahead to the new Aggregator Cabs Policy 2025 which is set to bring some reforms to ride-hailing services in the state.
According to the new policy, drivers will be fined for cancelling rides, the fare structure will be monitored by transport authorities and ride-hailing apps will not be able to charge 1.5 times more than the regular fare structure for a ride during peak hours.
The new policy also mandates welfare of the drivers providing accidental insurance.
On the other hand, the state government also took legal actions against bike taxis registering cases against 123 bike taxi drivers operating in the region.
Source: Inc42
