Noida commuters stranded as cabbies continue to strike
The protest by cab drivers of Delhi-NCR left commuters in Noida and Greater Noida stranded. There was a frenzy during the rush hour as commuters resorted to other transport modes on Monday.
The protest by cab drivers of Delhi-NCR left commuters in Noida and Greater Noida stranded. There was a frenzy during the rush hour as commuters resorted to other transport modes on Monday.
The Ola-Uber cab drivers’ strike entered its fourth day on Monday. Hundreds of cabs have been taken off the roads by drivers, who are demanding an increase in tariffs and accident insurance.
Those heading to the Indira Gandhi International Airport and New Delhi Railway Station were worst hit, as there was a long wait time in the cab applications and also surge pricing due to low cab availability.
“I had to drop a friend at the IGI Airport from Noida, early Monday morning. I paid ₹350 to reach the airport through a cab I hired using the Uber app. However, during my return trip, there was surge pricing and the metro doesn’t function at 4.30am. I ended up paying ₹850, which is nearly two-and-a-half times the regular fare,” Sumit of Arun Vihar said.
Residents of Delhi who work in Noida said they used alternative means of transport.
“I usually take a shared cab from Jungpura to Noida Sector 18, via the Barapulla flyover and then DND. But today, there was no availability of cabs so I had to use the metro. It took me more than an hour to reach as I had to change to the blue line at Mandi House Metro station,” Gagandeep of Jangpura extension said.
Commuters also alleged that a few independent cab drivers were harassing them over the fare. “There was no cab availability on the mobile application so I went to the road to hire an auto. I found a taxi, but the driver charged me ₹200 from the Sector 18 Metro station to Sector 62 intersection,” Deepak Taneja of Noida’s Sector 22 said.
A Ghaziabad-based taxi driver who is a resident of Vaishali and was working on Monday said that the agitation is expected to last at least until the end of the week. “I am compelled to work, but many of my friends in Vaishali are favouring the strike. Unless the government agrees to their demands, the strike will continue,” the driver said.
Despite repeated calls and messages, Ola and Uber’s representatives refused to answer questions.