HYDERABAD: Ever-increasing fuel prices have crashed the dreams of people who once bought four-wheelers, hoping to earn a livelihood by using them to provide cab services. The diesel prices which are on a steadily upward trajectory, touching the highest point in Hyderabad compared to other cities, have hit hard the cab drivers from poor economic backgrounds who own the four-wheelers they drive.
The affected cab owners opine that driving one’s own cab is no more a viable option. In fact, people who owned multiple cabs in the city have started selling them because of the rising fuel prices. While at the start of 2018 diesel was priced at `61.78 per litre, it spiked to `82.12 in October in Telangana. Private cab drivers say that the money spent on diesel is burning a hole in their pockets, drastically affecting their daily income.
Muhammad Saleem Baba, a cab driver, told Express, “Cab drivers who own cars usually buy them on Equated Month Instalment (EMI). Whatever profit we are earning, most of it is being spent on fuel to run the cab. Now with the fuel prices skyrocketing, our capability to repay the EMI to private finance companies is getting impacted. I have sold my vehicle for this reason and presently working as a driver for a cab which is owned by someone else.”
When contacted, Mukkawar Sunil, president of Telangana State Cab Drivers Samithi, said that the hiked fuel price just adds to the list of financial burdens on cab drivers. “Cab drivers are unable to pay the EMI and face tremendous pressure from the money lenders. On top of it, cab drivers also need to pay tax to the government, fees to taxi aggregators who do not share the burden of a hike in fuel costs.”
“Taxi aggregators are paying 7 to 8 per kilometre to cab drivers. Whatever profits the cab drivers earn on their vehicle, it is all spent on various payments and fuel prices has now been added to that list. The taxi aggregators need to increase the rate they pay to cab drivers as the fuel prices continue to increase,” he added.