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Commuters suffer as cab fares surge in Chandigarh
Uber, Ola drivers up in arms over entry fee issue; auto operators’ protest adds to the woes as travel becomes three to four times dearer across tricity
People using app-based cab services Uber and Ola for commuting in the tricity were left helpless on Monday, with fares surging three to four times the normal prices amid limited availability of vehicles throughout the day.
Cab aggregators Uber and Ola are in a deadlock with drivers over payment of the ‘entry fee’ being charged by the Chandigarh State Transport Authority (STA). The entry fee is charged from cabs attached to these aggregators, but which are not registered in Chandigarh.
The strike call given by the cab drivers entered its fifth day at the Dussehra Ground in Phase 8, Mohali, on Monday. The STA last week had asked both Uber and Ola to pay the unpaid ‘entry fee’, and started challaning cab drivers who didn’t have the receipt.
Most of the taxis not registered in the city remained off road in the city because of the strike call and the fear of challaning. Incidents of striking cab drivers stopping other drivers were also reported.
“Our cab was stopped by protesting cab drivers in Mohali and we were asked to get out of the car midway our journey,” said a commuter travelling from Chandigarh.
The commuters’ problems were compounded with even auto-rickshaw fares becoming twofold, as the strike of three-wheeler drivers not registered in Chandigarh also entered its fifth day. Drivers are striking against the Chandigarh Police drive against autos without necessary permits. Around 620 autos have been impounded in the last one week. Anil Kumar, president of Hind Auto Rickshaw Worker Union, said the new rules on permits are unfair, especially on autos coming from Haryana.
Sakshi Jhamb, who works with a media organisation, said: “For my daily commute to Mohali from Chandigarh, I pay around ₹150 per cab ride. But today, I had to shell out ₹350. Also, there was no cab available on Ola, and on Uber, the waiting time increased from the normal five minutes to 15 minutes. Even cab drivers who were booked called back, requesting cancellation of the ride.”
There are around 6,000 cabs plying in the city, catering to the tricity commuters. According to the On Demand Transport Aggregators Rules 2017, except for around 500 cabs registered in the city, an entry fee of ₹1,000 per cab has to be paid every quarter by the aggregators, said STA Harjit Singh Sandhu.
As the STA allowed Ola and Uber to offer their services in 2017, the department has sought unpaid dues for nine quarters. Last year, it had even recovered around ₹67 lakh from the transport aggregators on account of the unpaid licence fee.
“Last week, we asked the companies to pay the outstanding entry fee for the last nine quarters. We also started challaning taxis attached with both the companies, which couldn’t show the ‘entry fee’ slip,” said Sandhu.
In the last couple of days, the department challaned over 20 taxis attached with these two companies.
The striking cab drivers claim that it is the responsibility of the companies to pay the entry fee, and the UT administration is fining them a hefty ₹10,000 for no fault of theirs.
Harvinder Singh, president, Cab Operator Social Welfare Association, said: “We will continue to be on strike till the companies pay up the pending entry fee or their licences are cancelled by the Chandigarh administration. They had an agreement with the administration to pay the licence and entry fees. Now they are asking us to pay, and the STA is also challaning us.”
An Ola spokesperson said: “We are examining the issue for greater clarity.” A representative of Uber in Chandigarh refused to comment.
