If you are on the way to work today, or have reached after a taxing (pun pun pun!) time, or if you are planning on going somewhere in the day and are thinking of relying on the Ola Uber cab apps, you may want to get a look at what’s going on today.
Till when is the strike?
As of now it’s an indefinite strike, which means that unless their demands are taken care of, the drivers have refused to cooperate and come back to the streets with their vehicles.
The drivers of both Ola and Uber have called on an indefinite strike starting from the 19th of March 2018, which happens to be today, a Monday. The strike began officially as soon as the midnight hour changed the date to the 19th.
Is the strike only happening in Mumbai or other cities as well?
If you didn’t know about it, the strike that was first called by the transport division of the MNS, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, has also been taken up by the drivers in Delhi, Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad and various other cities.
Why are the drivers on a strike?
Image Credit: thewordbite.wordpress.com
Apparently, when the drivers signed up for the said cab services, they were expecting to make up to Rs 1.5 lakh a month, but they say that they have not been able to make even half of that amount. According to Sanjay Naik of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vahatuk Sena, while Ola and Uber had both assured their drivers about the kind of money they would make each month, they have not been able to keep their word on it. The drivers, who had invested about Rs. 5 to 7 lakh and were expecting to make at least about Rs. 1.5 lakh a month, have now been left high and dry, thanks to the mismanagement that is going on in these companies.
How will this affect my commute?
Cities such as Delhi and Bangalore have been notorious for charging at least double or triple of the regular auto or cab fares when such strikes come up, so it’s possible you might face this trouble there. While Mumbai does have the option of local trains, as long as you’re good with your acrobatic skills and can teach your nose to cut off oxygen supply and still be alive, you may survive.
As for me, I was fortunate enough to have a driver who helped me carpool with Mr. Boss, saving us the acrobatic skills, the stunt of holding our breathing, and in fact made us reach faster to work as almost 45,000 cars stayed off the roads.
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