Mumbai Ola, Uber, Rapido Strike Day 5: What Drivers Are Demanding And When Will It End?

Mumbai’s commuters continue to face enormous delays and inconveniences as thousands of cab drivers using app-based services, such as Uber, Ola, and Rapido, are still off the road. The strike started on July 15 and resulted in long waiting times and a total loss of cabs particularly for people traveling for business and passengers leaving for the airport.

The current strike continues in places like Mumbai Airport, Bandra-Kurla complex, Andheri, and South Mumbai. The drivers’ demands are for better earnings, regulation — they experience low earnings, they face no regulation on their terms of employment and operational costs are increasing. These drivers are claiming they are making only between Rs 8 and Rs 12 per kilometer after taking away the aggregator rates and their costs of fuel, etc. When the fuel and maintenance costs are going up, this is not sustainable for a living wage.

They are being organized by: Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch; Maharashtra Rajya Rashtriya Kamgar Sangh; and Indian Gig Workers Front. Their demands combine fairness in earnings and regulation.

One of the most significant demands includes bringing app-based cab fares into alignment with black-and-yellow taxis for both parity and sustainability. There are other calls to ban bike taxis, limit new permits for kaali-peeli taxis and auto-rickshaws, and create a welfare board for app-based drivers. Another major demand includes a legal framework under the Maharashtra Gig Workers’ Act that will provide drivers rights protection within the gig economy. 

A particularly pressing issue raised by drivers is the cost of discounts provided by app-based platforms. They argue that the burden of promotional fares is unfairly passed on to them, reducing their take-home income. Protestors insist that aggregator companies must bear the cost of discounts, not the drivers.

All of these demands are taking place during a protest, but the Maharashtra government has yet to announce a formal regulation policy for aggregators, even though reports indicate a draft is ready. As a result, tensions between drivers, platforms, and the public are rising. 

As there has been no indication of the protests ending in the immediate future, the Mumbai Airport issued a social media advisory to passengers to check their transport options in advance and be prepared for potential, and extended, delays.

Reports indicate that transport department officials met with the protesting drivers on July 18 and indicated to them to wait until July 22 for any further discussion with them. Until then, the strike is expected to carry on with massive daily disruptions for tens of thousands of commuters across Mumbai.

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