BENGALURU: In a meeting held with taxi drivers and members of various taxi owners and drivers’ association, the transport department officials, on Friday, assured Ola and Uber drivers that they will consider their demand to introduce metered taxis in the city. Discussions about fare hike and problems faced by cab drivers were also discussed.
The drivers raised their voice against the alleged harassment and exploitation of drivers by Ola and Uber cab aggregators. They demanded that metered taxis be introduced to avoid exploitation of both drivers and passengers. The officials responded positively to the demand and said a proposal will be sent to the government regarding this.
Even the ‘pool/share’ concept of cab aggregators was criticised by the association members, who said the concept was against the Indian Motor Vehicle Act. The officials reportedly asked the representatives from cab aggregating firms to stop those services and warned that legal action will be initiated if the order is not followed.
The members also demanded a fare revision of taxis and alleged that the demand was not met for the last several years. For this, they were assured that a committee will be set up soon to decide the matter.Tanveer Pasha, president of Ola, Taxi-For-Sure, Uber Driver’s and Owner’s Association, said the officials were informed about the exploitation of drivers by Ola and Uber management. “Not just drivers, they are also exploiting passengers by charging different fares different times a day.
Also, they deduct drivers’ money citing various reasons. I have also demanded a uniform fare system across aggregators,” he said.The alleged harassment for drivers at the international airport by police was also brought up and P S Sandhu, Commissioner for Traffic and Road Safety, assured that he will take action.