CUTTACK: Passengers in Twin City Bhubaneswar and Cuttack on Monday faced severe inconvenience as drivers of cab, auto-rickshaw and two-wheeler aggregators like OLA, Uber and Rapido, etc., went on a strike demanding the government’s intervention for regulating fares in services and provisioning other benefits for gig workers in the transport sector.
The taxi and autorickshaw drivers working with different aggregators gathered at Mahatma Gandhi Marg under the banner of Online Chalaka Mancha, Odisha Online Chalaka Milita Mancha and All Odisha Gig Workers’ Union, and staged protest seeking fulfilment of various demands.
They demanded government regulation of ride-hailing taxi fares and fixed rates for passengers, that the state government and aggregator companies jointly determine minimum and maximum fares and complete stop to the alleged practice of blocking drivers’ accounts without an investigation.
Besides, the protesters demanded that drivers be paid fair fare for the time they spend waiting for customers during a ride, adequate compensation for the additional time spent stuck in traffic jams and full payment in case a customer cancels a ride.
They also demanded that every app-based company must have a permanent office in the state and that companies should be prohibited from adding new vehicles to their platforms without regulation.
Owing to the protest, passengers arriving at the airport, railway station and bus terminals in the two cities faced issues in booking online taxi, autorickshaw and bike services to go to their destinations. Passengers outside the city airport were left stranded as the agitators allegedly stopped taxis from entering and leaving the airport premises.
The Commissionerate Police intervened to maintain law and order and asked PCR vans to drop some passengers from the airport to hospital in case of medical emergency. It also requested the passengers to take the help of PCR vehicles stationed at the airport for assistance.
Smart City Online Auto Association leader Dinabandhu Nayak said 20 different organisations from across the state joined the protest. “Keeping in view the increased fuel prices, we have urged the state government to intervene into the matter and consider our demands within 12 hours,” he said, warning that they will intensify their agitation in case there is no decision.
