Mumbai: Ola and Uber drivers’ protest enters Day 8; strike may end today

Drivers protest near Ola office in Andheri on Monday. (Express photo by Amit Chakravarty)

After marathon talks with officials of the cab aggregators, drivers, who have been protesting since a week, on Monday claimed Ola and Uber had accepted their demands. They said the strike was likely to be called off on Tuesday after they meet the state transport commissioner. Officials of Ola and Uber, however, did not comment.

As many as 500 drivers of Maharashtra Rajya Kamgar Sangh staged a protest in front of Ola’s office at Chakala in Andheri. On Monday, senior officials from the legal departments of Ola and Uber met the drivers. “The companies promised to increase the minimum base fares. Which means, the minimum base fares would increase to Rs 12 per km for Micro, Rs 15 per km for Sedan and Rs 19 per km for SUVs. The companies also promised to compensate us on our losses during the protest,” said Sudhir Bhosale from Maharashtra Rajya Kamgar Sangh.

The drivers also asked the companies to not increase the number of leased cars (owned by companies) for fair business practice. Bhosale said Ola and Uber gave a positive response. “We will continue the protest till we receive a written confirmation from them on our talks held today. We will meet the transport commissioner tomorrow to discuss our demands with him,” Bhosale added.

As the strike entered the eighth day on Monday, more than 90 per cent of cabs remained off roads affecting suburban commute. Traffic was disrupted in Andheri as drivers parked their cars outside Ola’s office leaving very little space for other vehicles. Ghatkopar resident Rohini Nair, who was heading to the airport, said, “The strike caused a major traffic jam in Chakala. The roads were completely blocked. I was stuck for almost 20-30 minutes in the jam but thankfully I had left early.”

Heavy traffic snarls were reported on the Western Express Highway after a car caught fire at the western-end of Jogeshwari-Vikhroli Link road. Till the time, the fire brigade along with other agencies could douse the fire, another traffic problem emerged as Ola and Uber drivers took to the streets and started obstructing traffic near Chakala junction.

“The protest added to the chaos. On the two-lane road, the protesters occupied a lane. However, we managed to get them off the street and traffic was restored in an hour’s time,” said deputy commissioner of police Shashi Kumar Meena, traffic (suburbs).

Milind Kadam, an Ola driver since three years, said, “In spite of driving for 12 hours at a stretch, we are unable to earn enough. While my expenses continue to increase because of the fuel price hike, cab companies are not compensating us equally.”

An Uber spokesperson said, “Uber acknowledges the ongoing strike in Mumbai has caused significant hardship to its riders and also to driver partners, most of whom want to drive but have been intimidated from doing so. Uber is proactively exploring all possible options to restore service and best support our driver partners.”