In Mumbai and other cities, cab drivers associated with ride—-outdoor companies like Ola, Uber and Rapido have started charging passengers from Tuesday (23 September) according to government notified fare rates. This new fare is quite expensive than before and resentment is also being seen among the passengers.

Drivers themselves implemented new fare

President of Bharatiya Gig Kamgar Manch, Dr. Keshav Nana Kshirsagar said that the cab drivers decided to implement the official fare themselves, as the app companies were not following the instructions issued by MMRTA.

According to Kshirsagar, now the driver of WaganR like Hatchers like WaganR is charging Rs 28 per km, Sidan like Swift Desire and drivers of SUVs like SUV are charging Rs 34 per km.

New website for transparency

To ensure transparency in cab fares, Gig Kamgar Manch has launched a website named www.onlymeter.in. The official fare table can be seen on this website, so that the passengers can get the correct information.

On September 16, MMRTA sent a letter to app-based taxi and auto rickshaw agroller companies Ola, Uber and Rapido instructing to follow the current fare of Black and Yellow taxi.

This fare for non-AC taxi was Rs 20.66 per kilometer and Rs 22.72 for AC taxi. This base rate will remain in force until separate fare for app-based taxis is fixed.

However, after the new decision, the journey for passengers has become expensive already. The Aadhaar fare for small cabs was Rs 15-16 was Rs 15-16.

Demand for Gig Kamgar Manch

The Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch has demanded that the app-based taxi and auto fare should be equal to the traditional black and yellow meter taxi. Apart from this, he has also demanded a ban on bike taxis, boundary on the permit of black and yellow taxis and auto rickshaws, the formation of welfare boards for app-based cab drivers and to create ‘Maharashtra Gig Workers Act’ like other states.

Kshirsagar alleged that the State Transport Department has given temporary licenses to companies against whom an FIR was lodged for running illegal bike taxi.

He says that these licenses are being misused to ride a bike with white number plate running on petrol, while they should have been used for e-bikes.

He said that instead of blacklisting these companies, the government increased the temporary license of one month and gave them special facilities.