Ola, Uber strike: In the wake of rising fuel prices, around 400-odd petrol pumps along with linked CNG dispensing units in the national capital are shut today. Besides Delhi, the cab service provider, Uber and Ola are not in service today in states like Mumbai, Hyderabad and Telangana for various reasons.

Delhi

The black and yellow cabs in Delhi, tourist taxis and a section of cabs working under app-aggregators Ola and Uber will today stage a protest in front of the Parliament, reported the Indian Express. The auto-rickshaw in the national capital are also off roads in protest against the policies of the cab aggregators that they say are not in their favour.

The protest is against the Delhi government's refusal to reduce VAT on fuels. The strike has been called by the Delhi Petrol Dealers Association (DPDA) which claimed that commuters were deserting fuel pumps in Delhi due to reduced VAT in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. There are about 400 petrol pumps in Delhi which also have linked compressed natural gas (CNG) stations and all of them will remain closed for nearly 24 hours in protest from 6 am onwards on October 22 and remain closed till 5 am on October 23.

The chairman of the All India Tour and Transport Association and convener of the joint forum, Inderjeet Singh was quoted as saying, "The one-day 'Chakka Jaam' protest by the Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti will be held as the government failed to listen to our grievances." "Auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers are losing their employment due to wrong transport policies of the government and also due to low fares offered to commuters by cab aggregators," he told PTI.

Mumbai

While in Mumbai, the Ola and Uber drivers have called for an indefinite strike over low pay. The Maharashtra Rajya Rashtriya Kamgar Sangh has declared an indefinite strike by the cab driver partners this afternoon, reported TOI. The protest by driver partners had led to the shortage of aggregator cabs in parts of the city early morning and surge price was as high as three times.

Telangana 

On the other hand, drivers of cab aggregators Ola and Uber and members of Telangana Four Wheelers Drivers’ Association may go on a strike today, as per the report by TOI. They want state government intervention in regulating fares charged by cab aggregator companies and safety of drivers associated with such companies.

Hyderabad

Drivers employed by cab aggregators like Ola and Uber have called for a strike in the state today claiming that the companies are underpaying the drivers and making it difficult for them to make a living. Following the nationwide call for a strike, the Four Wheeler’s Association, a union of cab drivers in Hyderabad, have also called for a ‘Gandhigiri bandh’ - a voluntary strike - in the city.

According to a report,  the drivers have alleged that the companies have failed to keep their promise and they only receive a marginal amount of the total fare a customer pays.