Black badge protest against cab aggregators

Nampally: Drivers of cab aggregators Uber and Ola in Hyderabad joined the nationwide indefinite black badge protest on Monday. The drivers have put forth a set of six demands to the taxi aggregators. The drivers of Hyderabad joined the drivers from Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Pune. The strike is set to affect several thousands of Uber and Ola users, who rely on the cab aggregators for their daily commute.

The drivers are demanding that the cab aggregators take notice of their falling returns. Telangana Four Wheeler Driver's Association president Shaik Salauddin said “Most drivers take a loan of Rs 8 to 10 lakh for buying a vehicle to drive with these cab aggregators. Their advertisements promise great profits for the driver but the reality is that drivers do not earn enough to pay even EMI for their vehicles”. “It’s easy to get a loan now, most people take a Mudra loan to get a car.

So now there are a lot of drivers but fewer customers. The benefits of surge charge also do not come to us. The cab aggregators also levy fine on us even for the silliest of reasons, even if the fault is with the customer,” he added. The drivers also allege that the cab drivers give more preference in terms of remuneration and tips to lease vehicles of cab aggregators over the self-owned vehicles which claims to represent to 1.25 lakh drivers of Ola and Uber, has demanded that fares be increased from existing Rs 6 per km to around Rs 20 per km. They also demanded abolition of the 25 per cent commission the drivers are being charged by companies from cab drivers.