‘Online survey on Ola, Uber, a bid to defame Kaali Peelis’

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Taximen’s Union — the oldest and biggest union of taxi drivers in the city — is considering implementing some of the findings of a survey by the

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Taximen’s Union — the oldest and biggest union of taxi drivers in the city — is considering implementing some of the findings of a survey by the Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP), a non-government organisation, regarding Ola and Uber’s taxi services. It said it will come up with ways to improve services by kaali peeli cabs. However, the union also called the survey an attempt to defame conventional cabs.

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Last month, the MGP had conducted an online survey, in which 76,169 commuters, including more than 62,000 from Mumbai participated. The online survey reported by HT on Wednesday revealed that 80 per cent of respondents preferred Ola and Uber over conventional cabs and 94 per cent felt harassed by black and yellow taxi and auto drivers.

“The report is one more attempt to defame the taxi trade, to spread falsehoods with the aim to help multinationals consolidate their business interest,” read a release issued on Wednesday. The city has been witnessing a tussle between conventional and app-based taxis for the past two years.

AL Quadros, leader of the MTU said the views reflected in the survey are of a handful of people from the corporate sector and not of the common people who use kaali peelis for their daily commute over short distances. “Thousands of commuters who can’t afford to travel by Ola and Uber use kaali peelis. The Grahak Panchayat has not taken their views into consideration,” said Quadros.

Quadros said the union is taking steps to educate kaali peeli drivers in a bid to modify their behavior and improve service.