MUMBAI: Thousands of commuters were majorly inconvenienced by an
indefinite strike called by
Ola and Uber driver partners affiliated to the
MNS transport union in Mumbai on Monday. It is hoped citizens will get some respite soon with a meeting between Ola officials and the union scheduled forTuesday afternoon, sources said.
While more than 80% cabs stayed off roads, those which were available on the app charged hefty surge prices – almost two to three times the normal fare. Passengers arriving at domestic and international airports were the worst affected as were daily commuters who take share cabs to the workplace.
The
Maharashtra Navnirman Vahtuk Sena, the transport union of Raj Thackeray-led MNS, had declared the strike and a video clip of one of its union leaders, Nitin Nandgaonkar, breaking the windshield of an Ola cab sparked panic among drivers in the morning. “The video clip led to several drivers going offline out of fear of being attacked,” said an official from an aggregator firm.
The union, along with a group of driver partners, took out a rally close to the
Ola office in Andheri, demanding better earnings for drivers. Andheri police, who said the rally was ‘illegal’ as they had not taken permission, arrested MNS union leader Nandgaonkar along with 14 other party workers and Ola drivers. DCP (zone X) Navinchandra Reddy said police have registered a case under non-bailable sections against them for “unlawful assembly and inciting drivers to take the law in their hands.”
A spokesperson from Uber also termed the strike illegal, saying the high court had issued an injunction in the past, “prohibiting unions, their leaders and anybody else from obstructing activities of Uber driver partners.’’ The strike had an impact in other cities including Pune and Nagpur where drivers protested to support their counterparts in Mumbai, sources said.
What made things worse for commuters in the city was the absence of a good alternative taxi service as the Kaali Peeli population has dwindled over the years. Several complained they were ripped off. “I had to wait for a cab for a long time and the surge price was two to three times the normal fare,” said Dheeraj Rana, a regular commuter. The fare for a journey from Thane to CSMT (Fort area) was around Rs 1,250 on UberGO while a share cab fare was more than Rs 1,000 for the same route.
