Little over two weeks are left for Bengal’s biggest festival, and the app cab drivers are on the streets seeking their pound of the flesh.
With over 3,000 Durga Puja pandals in Kolkata and its adjacent areas alone, the festival generates around Rs 4,500 crore.
Durga Puja organisers, this year, are receiving a financial assistance of Rs 1.10 lakh each from the Bengal government, along with concessions in power and other amenities.
“The festive season is knocking at the door. Everyone looks for some additional income at this time. Even auto-rickshaws raise their fares on their usual routes. We are also asking the state government and the companies to protect our interest,” said an app cab driver.
The app cab drivers now want the state government to restructure the fare before the festive season picks up.
A charter of demands submitted at the office of the app cab aggregator Uber in Salt Lake on Thursday sought a minimum price of Rs 30 per km for air-conditioned cabs and Rs 25 for non-AC ones. For bikes the minimum fare demanded is Rs 12 per km.
“Drivers for four-seaters have to pay Rs 99 to the vendors and for seven-seaters the rate is Rs 216 per day. This leaves a dent on our earnings. We want to know why the drivers should pay this amount,” said Md Manu, secretary of the Citu-affiliated union of app cab drivers.
A driver earns around Rs. 2,000, a part of which has to be spent on fuel.
“Earlier we used to get a commission, now that has stopped,” he said.
Over the last couple of months, the number of vehicles has reduced on the streets of Kolkata.
“At the current fare structure, it is not possible to be on the roads daily. At least 40 per cent of the cabs are off the road on any given day,” said an owner-driver.
The drivers are also unhappy with the introduction of shuttle services on several routes within the city and the mechanised rickshaws, known as totos, in the interiors of adjoining districts like North 24-Parganas.
The drivers want the mechanised rickshaws to be excluded from the aggregator services and restoration of the pool system.
Some of the drivers said they had supported the decision to join the state government’s Yatri Sathi service, which has proved to be better for the passengers with easier availability and cheaper rates offered.
The drivers also want cancellation and waiting charges to be included in the fare structure.
Another problem that several people associated with the service are facing is delay in changing the private number plates to the government-approved yellow number plates for commercial vehicles because of pending loan payments. The drivers have asked the RTO to sort out the matter at the earliest. For bike-taxis too, they want only those with commercial number plates be allowed to ferry passengers.
If the demands are not met within a week, the cabs may disappear altogether as a threat of a larger protest has been made to the aggregator companies and the state government.