Commuters in Delhi face severe hardships as taxi-auto strike enters second day

Taxis and autorickshaws parked outside New Delhi Railway Station on Thursday, the first day of the strike, to protest against the app-based cab services. Pic/PTI

Commuters in Delhi faced severe difficulties while booking cabs and autorickshaws through app-based aggregator services as the local auto-taxi strike in the national capital region (NCR) entered its second day on Friday.

The Delhi Auto Taxi Transport Congress Union (DATTCU) called the two-day strike to demand adequate compensation services from aggregators.

Adarsh Tiwari, a cab driver, said, "The companies offer us very less rate for our services, owing to which we are unable to pay the installments of our vehicles and meet other expenses. We can't ensure good education for our children or even sufficient food for our families."

The association, which is represented by 15 unions, claims that the situation has become worse for taxi and auto drivers after the launch of bike taxis.

Anil Pradhan, a cab driver, demanded a ban on bike taxis that offer services using non-commercial number plates. "The government should step in and ban the commercial plying of vehicles with non-commercial number plates. It is becoming difficult to make ends meet," he said.

Meanwhile, commuters claimed that owing to the strike, some auto drivers were charging them an extra amount, while some were refusing to go to certain destinations.

"I tried booking an auto on an app to reach my house in Jangpura from the New Delhi railway station but was unable to do so. When I finally got an auto, I had to pay Rs 100 more than what the drivers usually charge for Jangpura," said Vinay Kumar, a commuter.

Khushboo, a media professional, who travels to Delhi from Gurugram, said that cab drivers were refusing to go to Delhi as they feared that they could face resistance from those participating in the strike. At some places, cab and autorickshaw drivers were threatened and asked to deboard passengers.

Mansi Pandey, another media professional, said that autorickshaw drivers who are not participating in the strike are being threatened.

"I was travelling from my home to my workplace and took an auto near East of Kailash. At first, it was difficult to find an auto but when I got one, the driver demanded a higher fare. As I was getting late, I agreed to pay more, but when we reached a few metres ahead, around five to 10 people stopped the auto and asked me to step out, saying there was a strike today. They warned the driver that if he continued to drive, they would damage his vehicle," she said.

DATTCU president Kishan Verma said, "Why are we made to take permits and pay taxes when private vehicles are allowed to ply? We demand that the government impose a ban on bike taxis." On incidents of violence during the strike, Verma said, that some instances were reported in Mahipalpur, Najafgarh, and trans-Yamuna area but the DATTCU had nothing to do with it. "These are unsocial elements who are trying to take benefit from the protest and hamper it," he said.

On Thursday, too, the commuters faced many difficulties as around 80 percent of cabs and autos were off the roads in NCR.

(With PTI inputs)