The trouble for app based cab aggregators doesn’t seem to end with auto and taxi unions opposing the services of these companies. Firms such as Ola cabs who recently suspended their bike taxi service after being termed illegal will now be under more pressure as the Taxi and auto unions in Delhi have threatened to go on strike.
The reason cited for this strike being that the app based cab services were taking away their means of livelihood. The phenomenon, which has been seen earlier on various occasions in the city of Mumbai, has now spread to Delhi as well. The Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh as well as the Delhi Pradesh taxi union have written to the Transport Minister of Delhi, Gopal Rai, demanding that all the app based private players be stopped.
As a mark of protest, the unions plans to go on a 2 day strike (March 15th and 16th) claiming that the app based services take away their source of income. According to reports, there are an estimated 13,000 black and yellow cabs and 81,000 autos playing in the capital of the country.
Rajendra Soni, the general secretary of both the unions threatened the government that if their demands are not met immediately, the unions will take all their vehicles off the road on the proposed dates. He further added that the app based taxi services, which are reportedly not following the rules, were affecting their business and hence they could not sit quiet.
The news comes days after MNS party founder Raj Thackeray said that all autos with new permits would be set on fire as the majority of the permits went to people from outside the state instead of it being given to “the sons of the soil”. The chief of the political party took a u-turn on his words by ordering a stay on the burning of autos until further instructions were given.
Source: ET Auto