Online taxi aggregators Ola and Uber have reportedly discontinued their services in the city of Guwahati from February 1. According to a report by The Meghalayan, 18,000 taxi operators will stop providing Ola and Uber services. In addition, more than 16,000 Rapido riders will also stop operating as of today.
The closure of the service was announced by the All Assam Cab Mazdoor Sangha in protest of alleged harassment of taxi drivers by taxi aggregators.
“Ola and Uber started operations in Assam in 2015. In the first year they gave us good incentives. But in later days they began to harass the taxi drivers. They began taking 40 to 60 percent of the taxi drivers’ commission per trip. This is unreasonable,” said All Assam Cab Mazdoor Sangha General Secretary Jyotish Deka.
“They are also taking away dynamic pricing from us. If we pay such a commission, we have nothing left. We work from 18 to 20 hours. We have to pay fees at banks and finance companies for auto loans and support our family as well,” Deka added.
For now, taxi services will be available through two local taxi operators: Pei India and AM2 in Guwahati city.
One of the main demands of the All Assam Cab Mazdoor Sangha is the safety of the taxi drivers on duty. “Under the 2020 Motor Vehicle Aggregation Guidelines, health insurance and a provident fund must be provided to taxi drivers. But they are not implementing this clause. We also demand security for the taxi drivers on duty,” Deka also said.
Deka says they have made representations to the transport minister, transport commissioner and deputy commissioner on many occasions. But there was no answer.