The last day of the strike against app-based taxi services Uber and Ola by unions representing auto and taxi drivers painted a mixed picture at the New Delhi railway station here.
The typically crowded streets were relatively empty, but some drivers who chose to ignore the call for a strike were available. However, no more than five auto-rickshaws and yellow-black taxis were to be seen here.
Bookings cancelled
Commuters said that Ola and Uber's cabs booked beforehand were being cancelled as protesters were attempting to damage any cab they could find.
Vivek Varma, a 38-year-old driver for a Noida-based private company, said: “The public is frustrated with the auto strike. They (auto-rickshaw drivers) refuse to work and are causing problems for all of us.”
Physical aggression against Ola and Uber drivers also surfaced after an attempt to block an Ola cab from driving out of the railway station turned violent before escalating into a fight around 3 p.m.
While the unions wanted to ensure that all auto-rickshaws and yellow-black taxis did not operate, a number of drivers said they were picking up passengers from metro stations and covering short distances. For instance, Shiv Pal, an auto driver at Green Park, said the strike was limited to just the yellow-black taxis.
On the other hand, 45-year-old Mohammad Aslam said he had never seen a strike like this in his 25 years as an auto-rickshaw driver. “Nobody is willing to ride with us when Ola and Uber charge Rs. 6 per kilometre. We no longer have any work,” he said. Other auto-rickshaw drivers seconded his version and said that the problem was not the private taxis, but just Ola and Uber and their lower fares.
Sunny Gulati, an auto-rickshaw driver, added by saying that unions affiliated to all major political parties including the BJP, Congress and AAP were involved in the strike.
Mohammad Zufian, a taxi driver on strike who has two college-going children, said app-based services were destroying taxi and auto drivers’ livelihoods by charging only Rs. 6 to 8 per kilometre. This, even as the price fixed by the government for a yellow-black taxi (non-AC) is Rs. 14 per km. Private taxi drivers at the railway station, meanwhile, did not report any hostility directed towards them. However, there was palpable tension between private taxi drivers and the yellow-black taxi drivers on strike. Fortunately, the situation did not worsen.