Taxi strike compounds misery

JBRTM organised Tuesday’s protest without the support of any major taxi union except Swabhiman Sanghatana. It held a rally at Azad Maidan, which was attended by fewer than 5,000 taxi drivers

Mumbai’s commuters endured a day of misery on Tuesday, when a taxi strike coincided with heavy rains and disrupted local trains. Lakhs of commuters in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai were stranded as most black-and-yellow taxis stayed off the roads to support a protest by the Jai Bhagavan Rickshaw Taxi Mahasangh (JBRTM), a little-known union, against app-based taxi services such as Uber and Ola. The dearth of trains and taxis meant that app-based services could charge passengers up to five times the normal rate.

People waiting for a taxi outside CST on Tuesday. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT)

JBRTM organised Tuesday’s protest without the support of any major taxi union except Swabhiman Sanghatana. It held a rally at Azad Maidan, which was attended by fewer than 5,000 taxi drivers. Outside the maidan, a few drivers of black-and-yellow taxis damaged the cab of an Ola driver and two vans owned by news channels. A cameraman with a news channel suffered minor injuries in the scuffle before the Azad Maidan police arrested seven people. Balasaheb Sanap, leader of JBRTM, claimed that the seven drivers did not belong to his union. “It may be a conspiracy by other unions,” he said.

According to sources in taxi unions, about 70% of black-and-yellow taxis in Mumbai stayed off the roads. While there were a few taxis available in parts of south Mumbai, in many areas even share-rickshaw stands were shut, increasing pressure on BEST buses.

Stranded commuters told HT of the troubles they faced and criticised taxi drivers. “Cabbies are not providing better service despite fare hikes. If others (aggregators) giving better service, why should they agitate?” asked Manish Chauhan, a passenger.