Mumbai commuters struggle as Ola, Uber drivers join strike

In Mumbai, few drivers joined the strike on Monday but soon forced fellow drivers to toe their line

Commuters in Mumbai have been hit hard due to a strike by Ola and Uber drivers demanding a base fare of Rs 100. The ‘Go Offline' call originally started in Delhi and NCR, but began affecting Mumbaikars from Monday after many city drivers who had joined the protest forced fellow drivers to toe their line.

While drivers refused to speak on record, they said that the base rate, which is Rs 30-35 with an addition for subsequent kms, should be hiked to Rs 100. "The diesel rate, our vehicle loans and other expenses leave us with nothing much in hand. How do we run our families then? The pandemic and lockdown have already caused a major slide in the business. Serious thoughts should be given to this. Our attempts to take it up with the company have not borne fruit," said a driver partner of a ride-hailing company.

Commuters took to social media to vent their frustration. The users said they faced problems while booking rides and that drivers kept on cancelling trips.

"Is there an app cab strike in Mumbai? They are calling and cancelling...Why did the booking get cancelled?" tweeted Jimit Gandhi. "I wanted to leave office and usually avoid public transport, but app drivers kept on cancelling trips, leading to delays. I was told there was some strike," said the user.

Another city commuter, M Mathur, tagged Ola on Twitter saying a driver refused to cancel the trip claiming there is a strike by Uber and Ola. "I had to pay double the fare to the kaali-peeli cab for a smaller distance as more and more refusals are coming from app-based cabs. The strike has started affecting common commuters," one more passenger said.

‘Trying to resolve situation'

While there was no response from Ola to the query on the strike till the time of going to the press, Uber India said in a statement, "We regret the inconvenience caused to riders, and are working to resolve the situation quickly. Uber remains committed to ensuring that drivers on Uber's platform continue to enjoy sustainable earning opportunities."