Auto-rickshaw, taxi drivers strike against app-based cabs

New Delhi: Around one lakh auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers launched an indefinite strike on Tuesday against the increasingly popular app-based taxi services, causing hardship to tens of thousands of commuters.

Delhi cabs strike. Pic/PTI

An estimated 90,000 auto-rickshaws and 15,000 traditional yellow top taxis ply in Delhi, and union leaders said almost all of them had joined the crippling protest.

Only a few auto-rickshaws plied, but mostly within residential areas. The yellow top taxis remained off the roads.

The Delhi government refused to talk to the strikers until the protest was withdrawn.

Commuters starnded in New Delhi. Pic/PTI

"This is unacceptable," Transport Minister Satyendra Jain said. "They can't just go on strike like this. Today they are ranged against app-based cabs, tomorrow they will protest against e-rickshaws."

And pointing fingers at the BJP, Jain, a confidant of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, said the Delhi government was aware who were inciting the auto-rickshaw drivers.

The situation is likely to worsen as the Joint Action Committee of Auto and Taxi Unions (JACATU) has vowed to go on hunger strike from Wednesday if the Delhi government didn't meet their demand.

"This time we will show the government our power. We want the government to fix the rates of these app-based taxi services," JACATU President Rajendra Soni told IANS.

The steadily increasing number of app-based taxis, particularly from Ola and Uber, have captured a lot of business that was until recently with the auto-rickshaws and the yellow top taxis. The strikers resent this.

"Earlier we used to earn Rs 1,500-Rs 2,000 a day. But since these taxis have come in, we make only Rs 300-Rs 500. Who can be blamed for this but the app-based taxis?" asked Soni.

Even before the app-based services were introduced, auto-rickshaws had lost a chunk of business to Delhi Metro.

Sanjay Chawla, president of another auto-rickshaw union, said the Delhi government must fix rates for the app-based taxi services "so that they do not harm our business.

"As of now, these cabs advertise their rates at Rs 6-7 per km but charge Rs 14-15. By doing this, they woo our customers and hurt our business," he said.

The strike severely affected hundreds of thousands of commuters who use auto-rickshaws daily to travel. Most opted for Delhi Metro or buses, which were overcrowded on Tuesday.

The worst hit were those reaching the capital by train, with auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers at railway stations staging noisy protests.