KOCHI: ‘Online taxis’ went offline across the state on Tuesday and will remain so until their demands are met. The declaration was made by the All Kerala Online Drivers Union Alliance, which has put forward 11 demands, including fair fare revisions, driver welfare, and an end to illegal bike taxis. On day one of the strike, around 80% of the ride-hailing app-based taxis remained offline even as agitators took out a march to the secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram.
With a major chunk of drivers remaining off-road, the digital platforms saw a surge in demand, causing them to increase the fares up to three times the normal rates. According to Smitha Nair, a techie, the wait for a ride on Uber on Tuesday night was much longer and got cancelled multiple times before she got one, but at a much higher fare than usual. In another case, Mini Joseph, a resident of Tripunithura, decided not to accept the Uber ride after seeing the surge.
“For a ride that usually costs Rs 200 or Rs 250, the fare shown on Tuesday morning for a ride from Tripunithura to Ernakulam was `800. It was a huge shock. Even getting a ride was difficult,” Mini said. “Things will turn worse as the drivers are planning an indefinite strike,” she added.
As the strike gained momentum, reports emerged of striking drivers in Thiruvananthapuram pressuring those on the road to go offline and support the agitation. “A few drivers wanted to cash in on the strike and operated their services. We are convincing them to turn off their apps to make the protest a success,” said a driver.
Marking their agitation, around 200 drivers staged a protest march to the secretariat on Tuesday afternoon, demanding immediate resolution of their grievances. A prolonged agitation will however adversely affect the tourism industry, said M P Sivadathan, state president of the Kerala Homestays and Tourism Society (KHATS).
“Nearly, all tourists prefer online taxis to normal ones. This is going to be a problem,” he said.
Explaining the reasons behind the strike, the alliance leaders said the indefinite ‘offline strike’ against ride-hailing platforms Uber, Ola, Rapido, and Kerala Savari has been called to highlight the serious income crisis being faced by online taxi drivers in Kerala.
“The unfair fare system, anti-driver policies, unrestricted vehicle attachment, local service of other state vehicles, and illegal white-board bike taxi service have dealt a big blow to the drivers attached to the online taxi-hailing platforms. In the past decade, all expenses related to vehicle operations, including fuel costs, insurance, tyres, spare parts, service costs, engine oil, permit fees, taxes, interest on vehicle loans, parking fees, airport entry fees, etc, have increased significantly,” said the alliance of all ride-hailing app-based taxi unions in the state.
According to the alliance, though the price of petrol, which was around Rs 66 in 2015, has now reached over Rs 100, that of diesel has risen to over Rs 90 from Rs 52, and that of CNG from Rs 48 to over Rs 90, the fares have not been revised.
“An online taxi driver has to remain online for 12 to 16 hours, often 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24×7). But even after working for so long, the drivers are unable to earn adequate income. Having drivers do overtime doesn’t bode well for either the passengers or themselves,” the alliance said.
The union leaders said a comprehensive demand notice was issued to Uber, Ola, Rapido, and Kerala Savari ahead of the strike. The leaders clarified that the alliance is willing to resolve issues through dialogue and discussion. The alliance clarified that the strike was not intended to inconvenience the public.