Mumbai hit badly as autorickshaws go on strike

TNN

Mumbai, 17 June 2015: Autorickshaws in most parts of the city went off the roads on Wednesday causing inconvenience to the office-goers, school and college students and scores of senior citizens.

 

The Mumbai Autorickshawmen’s Union is observing a one-day token strike in protest not just in Mumbai, but in the neighbouring Thane and Navi Mumbai as well. Union leader Shashank Rao said he will take a delegation to state transport minister Diwakar Raote in the afternoon to submit his memorandum of demands. This includes the demand for a ban on aggregator cab services like Ola and Uber within Mumbai and that the Hakim committee fare hike formula be continued.

 

This is the second time in two days that Mumbai commuters have been hit after Tuesday’s strike by a section of taxi-drivers union led by Nitesh Rane.

 

Wednesday’s strike saw many people either walking down to the nearest railway stations, awaiting the overcrowded BEST or ST buses, using private vehicles or two-wheelers.

 

Braving rains in many parts, passengers at the airport here as well as at the rail terminals in various places in the city had a harrowing time.

 

The strike, in which Shiv Sena and the taxi-men’s unions are not taking part, led to a spurt in demand for various private and radio taxi services. Ironically, one of demands of the autorickshaw drivers is the a ban on these radio taxis.

 

The strike has been opposed by rival unions like those of Thampy Kurien and the Shiv Sena and some of the autos belonging to these unions are plying early morning. They have appealed to affiliated drivers to ply autos throughout the day.

 

As an anti-strike measure, Uber will disable its dynamic pricing, which could increase demand and affect the availability of cabs, said a company official. Commuting options for the day include BEST and ST buses, fleet cabs like Meru and TabCab, aggregators, black-&-yellow taxis, and car-pooling through social networking sites, sources added.