The nationwide strike call given by the All India Coordination Committee of Road Transport Workers’ Organisation against the Motor Vehicle (Amendment ) Bill evoked a lukewarm response in the city on Tuesday.
Led by the CITU and YSR Congress Party’s trade union, autorickshaw drivers and owners staged protests at the Pandit Nehru Bus Station.
The steep increase in penalties for violations on the roads in the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill has been strongly opposed by the autorickshaw drivers and owners on the ground that it will hit their income.
They demanded that the government immediately rescind the decision.
“Huge penalty on drivers and owners is unacceptable. Simple violations by drivers also attract a jail term. The Central government, with this new Bill, is going to help only ride-hailing companies in the country,” said a CITU activist.
“We have been demanding reduction in the third party insurance for long, but the government proceeds to increase it further. The government should immediately bring fuel under GST so that the prices come down by at least 40%,” said M. Rajagopala Rao of the Vijayawada Taxi Owners Welfare Association.
However, taxi owners did not observe strike due to a communication gap in the city. App-based cab and autorickshaw services too were not impacted.
Transport services, including APSRTC buses and autorickshaws, came to a halt for a brief while in the morning hours.
APSRTC employees of the CITU-affiliated Staff and Workers’ Federation (SWF) also joined the protests.
The new rule, if implemented, would have a catastrophic impact on the State-run services, the federation added.