Ola and Uber drivers had gone on a strike in February demanding a raise in the taxi fares.
A section of app-based taxi drivers of Ola and Uber in Delhi are staying off the roads of the capital today. However, their strike seems to have little impact on Delhiites and those living in the National Capital Region. Regular users of Uber and Ola were anticipating trouble commuting today when the drivers threatened to go on a day's strike against what they call "low fares" set by the cab aggregators.
However, despite the easy availability of cabs, a surge pricing was reported on several routes.
Though the agitating Sarvodaya Drivers' Association claims some groups of tourist taxi providers and auto-rickshaw unions too are supporting the strike, auto-rickshaw drivers and tourist taxi groups have said they will not participate in the strike, news agency PTI reported. "We will not support the strike in Delhi," Rajendra Soni, the general secretary of both the associations, said.
The striking drivers group claimed more drivers will join the protest from this afternoon."There is anger among drivers that government is not intervening in raising their issues with Ola and Uber," said Ravi Rathore, vice-president of the Sarvodaya Drivers' Association.
The drivers of app-based taxi services had said they will hold a protest march against the Delhi government from Majnu-ka-Tila in north Delhi to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence in Civil Lines.
This is the second round of strike called by the NCR drivers who went on an almost two-week strike in February against the pricing and for better working conditions for the drivers.
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday had asked the taxi unions to not disrupt the services. During the February strike, regular users of the app-based taxi services faced a tough time due the the surge pricing during the peak traffic hours.
The Sarvodaya Drivers' Association claims to represent nearly 1.25 lakh app-based taxis in the Delhi-NCR region.
The drivers are demanding the taxi fares to be raised from Rs 6 per km to around 20 per km. They also want to do away with the 25 per cent commission charged by companies.
(With inputs from PTI)