Cabbies protest over prices, commute in Delhi impacted

Cab drivers protested in Delhi over pricing issues and safety concerns, causing longer wait times and higher fares for commuters.

Several cab drivers associated with app-based platforms such as Ola, Uber and Rapido, along with conventional taxi drivers, gathered at Jantar Mantar on Saturday to protest over pricing issues, lack of policy uniformity and the increasing use of private vehicles as taxis. The protest led to longer wait times and higher fares across parts of Delhi-NCR, with commuters reporting cancellations and surge pricing.

The protest led to longer wait times and higher fares across parts of Delhi-NCR, with commuters reporting cancellations and surge pricing. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Drivers’ unions, including the Rashtriya Driver Sanyukta Morcha Samiti and the All Delhi Auto Taxi Congress Union, participated in the demonstration. In a mid-January statement calling for the protest, the former said the strike aimed to highlight the “arbitrariness and exploitation of drivers by aggregator companies like Ola, Uber, and Rapido”.

Karan Rawat, a 28-year-old cab driver with Rapido, said drivers faced inconsistent earnings and pricing. “Drivers are being exploited. We get like ₹5-6 per km on average, there is no fixed rate or fixed policy dictating the rates. On top of that, in Rapido, another problem that we have been facing is that the app is showing separate prices to the driver before and after the ride is completed. For example, recently I drove a customer from Rajiv Chowk to Sarita Bihar and the app showed something around ₹280 to me but it reduced to ₹220 by the time I dropped him off,” he said.

Drivers also raised safety concerns and the impact of private vehicles operating as taxis. “There is no safety net for us. Customers can behave badly with us, leave us with a bad rating and still complain about us, even when the fault is neither of the customer, nor the driver. These apps are to blame and so is the lack of uniformity in policy. Why are we paying taxes when private vehicles can come and take away our income,” said 32-year-old Rahim Khan.

Despite multiple attempts, HT did not receive comments on the matter from Ola, Uber, and Rapido.

The protest affected services across the region. “In the morning, when I booked a cab from Lajpat Nagar to ITO, the wait time was like 12 minutes as compared to an instant booking on Rapido, but the fare was as per usual. While coming back in the afternoon, however, the price was double and the wait time was even longer. In fact, two cabs cancelled and then I could get a ride home,” said 25-year-old Nikita.

Ankita Chowdhury, 37, a resident of Munirka, said, “I had an event to attend in Gurugram today. I paid like ₹1000 for the cab to actually come, as they kept cancelling. Earlier, whenever I have taken a cab to Gurugram, it has been anywhere around ₹650-800. On top of this, the cab waiting time was over 20 minutes.”