Cab drivers spent night at Freedom Park, threaten to go to court

On March 1, above 5000 Ola and Uber cab drivers gathered at the Freedom Park and staged an indefinite protest demanding government regulation for taxi aggregators. However, due to the restricted permission is given by the city police, only 15 protesting cabbies decided to stay overnight at the park.

The agitation that has almost paralysed the Bengaluru causing trouble to daily commuters is now being backed by JD(S) state president HD Kumaraswamy who promised to give financial assistance to the cab drivers who are protesting. 

President of the Uber, TaxiForSure and Ola Drivers' Association, Tanveer Pasha, was quoted by a leading daily as saying that the cab drivers are willing to go to court. 

The protesting cab drivers have demanded that the aggregators offer the maximum fare which is capped by the state government at ₹19.5 per kilometre and that these companies should abandon their dynamic pricing models. The city cab drivers are complaining that the aggregators have set an unrealistic target for the cabbies and that they expect the drivers to complete 18 to 26 trips every single day. One of the drivers was quoted by Times Of India as saying that completing 18 or more than that trips in a city like Bengaluru is not possible and that even after driving for 24 hours only 12 to 15 trips can be completed. 

Meanwhile, the city police have given two days permission to the cabbies to protest at the Freedom Park which will end on March 2. However, since Kumaraswamy has promised to join the protest on March 2, the taxi drivers are hopeful that they will get the police permission to continue their protest. 

Since the number of cabbies participating in the protest is rising, the aggregators have reportedly sent SMSes asking the drivers to join work. Both Ola and Uber have not acknowledged the strike, and Uber has reportedly said that as per a high court order union leaders are prohibited from preventing the drivers from using their app. 

• Ola Uber Drivers
• Ola Uber strike
• Bengaluru cabs
• Freedom Park