Ola, Uber indefinite strike begins, commuters set for bumpy ride: 10 points

Do you use Ola and Uber for your daily commute? If yes, you may want to find other modes of transport as drivers for app-based cab aggregators Uber and Ola on Monday started an indefinite strike across India. The strike, which began at midnight on Sunday, centred on Mumbai and was called by Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena's transport union.

The strike, which will be observed in key cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, aims to voice the drivers’ woes of not being able to cover rising costs due to falling business. They are currently being paid Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per month, according to media reports.

"Ola and Uber had given big assurances to the drivers, but today they are unable to cover their costs. They have invested Rs 500,000 to Rs 700,000 and were expecting to make Rs 150,000 a month. But drivers are unable to make even half of this because of the mismanagement by these companies," said Sanjay Naik, President of Maharashtra Navnirman Vahtuk Sena, reported news agency PTI.

Naik accused Ola and Uber of giving priority to company-owned cars rather than driver-owned ones, thereby, hitting their business.

In Mumbai alone, there are over 45,000 Ola and Uber cabs but a slump in business has seen a drop of about 20 per cent in their numbers.

Meanwhile, the police has issued notices to leaders of the union under section 149 of CrPC relating to unlawful assembly.