Taxi Aggregators Uber & Ola challenged in Hyderabad

Taxi aggregators have disrupted transportation services across the globe & faced stiff opposition. The week long cab strike in Hyderabad has bought to the fore the positions of cab drivers, taxi aggregators and the local Government. Some facts that have come out -

According to the Telangana Cab Drivers and Owners Association (TCDOA) which has a membership of only 7,000 drivers, Hyderabad has about 1.2 lakh cabs of which 90,000 are running under Ola and Uber. Ola and Uber have attracted many people to join the cab-leasing programme that allows them to run a car on lease and earn Rs 60,000-70,000 per month. Several new drivers have joined in this programme to own a car at the end of four years with a minimum payment. Currently, over 20,000 cars have been registered with Ola while more than 33,000 cabs with Uber run in the city.  Ola pays an minimum business guarantee (MBG) of Rs 2,200 for nine rides a day and Rs 5,800 for 17 rides a day, even if the rides worth is below that amount. Similarly, Uber pays Rs 1,000 for rides worth Rs 600 per day, Rs 1,400 for rides worth Rs 800 per day, Rs 5,800 for rides worth Rs 2,700 per day and Rs 7,000 for rides worth Rs 3,300 per day. The cab drivers have been working for more than 18 hours a day to avail these incentives. The drivers have to bear 30-35 per cent of their income for fuel expenses, 20 per cent aggregator's commission and 7 per cent taxes, according to the cab associations - Business Standard

For rides paid through Ola Money, Ola pays its driver partners every two days

According to a TCDOA leader, Ola and Uber have turned drivers into slaves, even while claiming them as “partners”. Cars are being offered at the down payment of Rs.24,000, but earnings are not enough to pay the EMIs which are cut online from the drivers’ accounts. The Association's demands include stopping new cab driver registrations immediately as the existing cabs are not able to get enough business and scrapping of shared cabs. They have other objections against the cab hailing companies, like keeping the driver uninformed about the customer’s details, distance from the pick-up location, making drivers responsible for cancellation of bookings.

Cab drivers in the past have resorted to dirty tricks like fake bookings to claim incentives. A scamster would carry the mobile phone while riding a bike rather than a car and get his friends to book rides. Such drivers would thus exploit the incentive structure as are not paid based on actual fares they earn but the targets that are set and incentives.

During the hey days, monthly earnings shot from Rs 10,000-14,000 (usual salary of a cab driver) to 70,000 and above. 80 per cent of the 80,000 odd cabbies associated with Ola and Uber in the city are owners-cum-drivers - ToI

In a blog in March 2017, former president for Uber in India, Amit Jain, said that '80 per cent of drivers across India who are online for more than six hours a day make between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,500 net, after Uber's service fee'. Most app drivers...hotly dispute this

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