Respite to Delhiites as Ola, Uber return on city roads, cab union still claims strike on

Commuters in Delhi-NCR on Saturday had some relief when they were able to book cabs even as the striking union of Ola and Uber drivers claimed their strike was still on.

However, fares were higher than normal during morning and evening hours. The waiting time for hiring cab was also far away from the normal.

Cabs were available on Ola and Uber’s apps throughout the day in the national capital.

In the evening, Ola started sending a notification to its costumers saying “We are back in full strength”.

Sarvodaya Drivers Association of Delhi (SDAD), who claims to represent 1.5 lakh of drivers in Delhi-NCR, claimed although around 70 per cent of cabs plied in the morning, a major section of drivers in evening were off the capital’s roads.

SDAD vice-president Ravi Rathore, who is currently admitted at RML Hospital after his condition deteriorated as he was at hunger strike since Friday, said, “We have so far not called off our strike. It will continue till our demands are met. Hundreds of drivers are still on dharna at Jantar Mantar in favour of their demands.”

Rathore said that there was still no fresh communication from either Ola, Uber or the Delhi government.

Pinky Sharma, a resident of Gurugram, said that in morning, she was charged Rs 679 by an app-based cab aggregator for a ride to her office in New Delhi, but during normal days, the fare used to be around Rs 350.

Thousands of drivers are on strike since February 10 in Delhi-NCR demanding an increase in fares from the existing Rs 6 per km and also want the 25 per cent commission the app-based aggregators charge on every booking to be discontinued.