Ola, Uber drivers in Hyderabad to join protest, but will ply taxis

Hyderabad: Nearly 1.24 lakh drivers of cab aggregators Ola and Uber in Hyderabad are joining the nationwide indefinite black badge protest from Sunday midnight.

The city cab drivers will be joining cab drivers from other cities like Chennai, Pune, Bengaluru, New Delhi and Mumbai.

The drivers have made six demands that have to be met by the taxi aggregators for them to end the boycott.

The protest by the Uber and Ola cabs in city from Monday, will not affect the city commuters because the cab drivers are just doing a symbolic protest by wearing a black badge, black cap or black shirt while performing their duties.

Shaik Salauddin State President Telangana Four Wheeler Drivers’ Association, said, “We have raised several demands, including not providing incentives like before and providing valid reason for suspension of drivers. These taxi-hailing companies are giving first priority to company-owned cars rather than driver-owned vehicles, causing a slump in our business.”

He further added, “We can’t ask all the drivers to completely boycott their work because it will affect their daily income. So we have decided to protest silently by wearing black badges so that customers are also aware of our problems.”