The autorickshaw unions have threatened to agitate if the state government does not bring Uber and OIa under the ambit of law. The trigger to this is the promotion made by Uber for use of auto rickshaws, which until now has been providing cabs with national permits.
"While the transport department has not increased fares of autos and taxis for three years, the mobile aggregators are allowed to charge more. If the government doesn't take action soon, we will agitate," said Shashank Rao, president of Mumbai Auto Rickshawmen's Union.
If a particular route is charged at Rs 40, one pays at least Rs 70 or more if booked using an aggregator's app. The union claims that the hike varies from Rs 5 to Rs 50 depending on the time of the booking.
Rao and his union claim that they had written letters earlier and now shall write another one asking to take action against the aggregators.
"People should understand that they are being overcharged by the autos booked through apps. We have categorically told these aggregators that unless the fares are not approved by the government; our members would not join their platform," said Thampi Kurien, Mumbai Rickshawmen's Union.
"We launched uberAUTO in Mumbai in June 2018, as part of our vision to be multi-modal and provide reliable transportation options for everyone, everywhere," said a Uber spokesperson.