Sanjay Naik, the person spearheading the strike in Maharashtra, said that Ola and Uber should be held accountable as they gave assurances to the drivers of good earnings, which has left the drivers in lurch.
With dwindling earnings forcing a section of Ola and Uber drivers to go on strike, the situation is a stark reminder of the unorganised manner that the taxi-hailing space in the country operates. The indefinite strike that affected Mumbai the most is largely led by the unions backed by regional political entities.
Sanjay Naik, part of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vahatuk Sena, and the person spearheading the strike in Maharashtra, said that Ola and Uber should be held accountable as they gave assurances to the drivers of good earnings, which has left the drivers in lurch. “They are unable to cover their costs. They have invested Rs 500,000 to Rs 700,000 and were expecting to make Rs 150,000 a month. But drivers are unable to make even half of this because of the mismanagement by these companies,” Naik said.
However, driver partners are wary of participating in the strike. Girish Prasad, 28, for example is exasperated with the scenario because not plying his taxi for last few days has left a hole in his daily household budget. “Every day that I don’t earn is dragging me down to destitution. I have two kids and a wife who rely on me for all expenses. Earnings have gone down as it is, and now the strike is restricting my earnings further,” he said.
The union members are instead resorting to force to make driver partners comply with the strike. According to a union member in Mumbai, who did not want to be identified, they have resorted to force to stop drivers from plying on the road. Union activists have allegedly broken eggs and thrown dirt in the cabs that defy the strike, to keep them off road.
The strike in Mumbai has been on since March 19th, while the last strike in Bangalore lasted for good 20 days, taking away nearly a month’s earnings. “We are aware of the loss drivers are incurring because of the strike. But this is also necessary for sustained earnings,” the union member said.
The drivers’ union is demanding that earnings be restored to earlier levels when they managed to earn over Rs 1 lakh a month and that company operated cabs be taken off the road to cut competition. The union is also protesting against low-fare bookings, and are gunning for a fare slab that is based on the cost and type of vehicle.
While Bangalore transport department is the first to define tax fares for ride-hailing apps based on the type and cost of vehicle, other states have no such proposal on the table.
Ola and Uber, when they launched, had offered lucrative incentives on earnings and owning a car. With ample funding, the companies offered heavy incentives with low commission rates of just about 10%. But with focus shifting on profitability, these companies have gradually withdrawn the incentives increasing commission simultaneously, cutting down on drivers’ earnings. The drivers now make about Rs 20,000 a month on an average, with steep commissions of up to 30% per ride.
M Kariappa, a driver with Ola and Uber in Bangalore, is dismissive of the strike called by the unions. Kariappa, who quit his job in an IT firm to attach himself with Uber and Ola as a driver, feels these frequent strikes are an ineffective way to deal with the real problem.
“These strikes in fact erode our earnings further. I am now stuck. I cannot afford to lose even a day’s earnings. Uber and Ola provided a lucrative alternative to my corporate job, but now it feels like a bad decision. I am now unable to join back the IT industry, more so with automation kicking in,” Kariappa said.
However, Ayush Khurana, an independent data analyst based in Bangalore said it is economically impossible for both the companies to dole out huge incentives regularly. To start, profitability has eluded these companies, and is in fact making losses due to heavy expenditure on marketing and technology.
Ola and Uber maintain that the incentives offered earlier were never meant to be permanent. The companies have now gone ahead with assistive incentives such as subsidised education for children of driver partners, insurance benefits, etc.
However, driver partners say the companies never apprised the drivers of the situation that exists today. “If the incentives were temporary, it should have been made clear. People invested heavily, out of their meagre earnings to attach themselves with them, and now there’s not much to cover it,” a driver based in Mumbai said.
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