Auto, taxi unions go on strike on Monday, Delhi-NCR commuters may face problems

Commuters across Delhi-NCR may face difficulties on Monday as a few auto-rickshaw and taxi unions said they would be on strike for one day against the Delhi government’s policies on cab aggregators and Centre’s rule on speed governors.

The strike, being organised by Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti (one of the major auto-taxi unions in Delhi), will be for one day only. Members and supporters of the group have threatened to block major roads in the city.

“No auto-rickshaw or all India tourist permit (AITP) cabs will be plying. Some cab drivers who work for app-based cab aggregators like Ola and Uber have also shown support to the chakka-jaam (strike),” said Inderjeet Singh, chairman of the All India Tour and Transport Association and convener of the joint forum.

Singh claimed that the unions have made “multiple attempts” to reach out to the governments at the Centre and Delhi. “But we got no response. So we are now forced to block roads to make our voice heard. Our demand is a dialogue with the governments so that issues like the monopoly of app-based cab aggregators and haphazard implementation of speed governors are resolved through mutual agreement,” he said.

Responding to HT’s query on the strike, a senior official from Delhi government’s transport department said, “As far as Delhi government is concerned, the reason for the strike is completely unfounded as no such policy has been notified till now. A draft was prepared, but there has not been any development.” The official did not wish to be identified.

Another set of taxi unions said it will stage a protest against the central government in front of the Parliament on Monday. “Ours is only a protest and cab drivers who support us, including those under Ola and Uber, would be on duty on city roads on October 22. The protest is against cab aggregators who are exploiting drivers, rising prices of petrol and diesel and restructuring prices of AITP fees,” said Sanjay Samrat, president, Delhi Taxi Tourist Transport Association.

Delhi has about 95,000 registered auto-rickshaws and about 1.5 lakh cabs plying on city roads.