BENGALURU: The protest by drivers of cab aggregators Ola and Uber entered the second day on Thursday with drivers’ unions continuing to stop cabs at various places in the city. A majority of drivers did not ply due to fear of protestors damaging their vehicles. The strike had taken an ugly turn on Wednesday when drivers pelted stones at Uber’s office in HSR Layout.
Many people could not book cabs as usual on Thursday and had to subsequently depend on auto rickshaws who charged exorbitant rates.
Roshna K who wanted to travel from HSR Layout to MG Road said, “Three cab drivers accepted the ride, but refused to go for a long distance as this one, as they feared being stopped by driver unions.”
Voicing a similar opinion, Kapil Kumar whose cab was stopped at Banshankari said, “I was in a hurry as I had to visit my wife in hospital who had delivered a baby yesterday. My driver fought with the protesting drivers and ensured that I reached my destination.”
Tanveer Pasha, president of Ola, TaxiforSure and Uber Drivers’ and Owners’ union said, “We will not stop our protest until our demands are fulfilled. We are making sure that cabs are not plying. We are convincing those who are driving at various areas to call off services and participate in our protest.”
Lashing out at Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy he said, “The minister has said that he has nothing to do with Uber and Ola. If he does not know what comes under his purview, he should resign. Neither transport authorities nor cab aggregators have assured us anything. In fact, Uber has written to the police to take action against us. We will wait till Monday for a positive response. Or else we will burn our vehicles at traffic signals.”
Balram, an Uber driver says, “We have no idea why and what these unions are doing. If they really want to bring any change, they should ask the government to bring down diesel rates ” Balram was stopped at Nagarbhavi and HSR Layout by driver unions.