Mumbai commuters hit as Ola, Uber and Rapido drivers strike; Azad Maidan protest today

The cab strike has also caused several disruptions across the city, especially around the airport and railway stations.

Cab drivers working for Ola, Uber and Rapido in Mumbai have continued their indefinite strike in the city on Friday. With the strike now on Day 4, the drivers have planned to intensify their protest at Azad Maidan on Friday.

The drivers have called for assurance from the government and have stated that they will continue their strike until their demands are met.(PTI)

"The cabbies will sit on a protest at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai from Friday to further intensify their agitation. No deliberations took place with the government after the meeting with state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik at Mantralya on Tuesday," he added. The Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch has demanded rationalisation of fares, bringing fares on par," Dr KN Kshirsagar, president of Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch, told news agency PTI.

He added that almost 70 per cent of app-based cabs remained off the roads across the region, leaving very few vehicles for booking on Wednesday. As per a mid-day report, on Thursday, around 90 per cent of the vehicles were off the road due to the strike.

The drivers have called for assurance from the government and have stated that they will continue their strike until their demands are met.

The cab strike has also caused several disruptions across the city, especially around the airport and railway stations. Furthermore, videos of striking drivers forcing colleagues who are taking rides, to join the strike, have gone viral on social media.

Why are cab drivers on strike?

Drivers working across the app-based taxi platforms  Ola, Uber and Rapido - announced an indefinite strike earlier this week as they demanded the rationalisation of fares.

This demand comes in order to bring the fare of the cab rides and drivers up to par with the meter-run abs and autos in Mumbai.

The five key demands of the workers are -

1. Rationalisation of fares for parity with metered cabs
2. No bike taxis
3. A cap on cab and auto permits,
4. A welfare board for cab and taxi drivers
5. The implementation of the Maharashtra Gig Workers’ Act.

The strike is focused on the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune and Nagpur.