Bengaluru: Commuters, drivers worried

Bengaluru: A day after the transport department cancelled the licence of app-based cab aggregator Ola, customers and drivers are confused. Several regular cab users claimed that there were fewer Ola cabs on the road and they had to wait longer after booking the cabs.

With the licence being cancelled, drivers are not sure what is in store for them, while commuters are apprehensive that they have to depend on public transport, which is not very dependable, or their own vehicles.

Mr Ashok Kumar, who hails from Mandya and has been driving an Ola cab for over two years now, was unhappy with the way the company has handled the issue. He said, “We have invested large amounts of money and taken loans to buy vehicles. If the licence is cancelled, where should drivers like me go? This is happening because of the decisions taken by the company management and we are suffering. The drivers are confused as to what to do if the permission is not granted in the next few days. There is a fear that the vehicles will be seized if found operating for Ola from Monday.”

Mr Ravi Prasad, who is from Raichur, said that he has been driving for Ola for the last three years and for the first time, he is thinking of quitting the job and working for a private company. “When we contacted the Ola support service, they told us that there is no problem and we can operate the cabs. But there is news that the transport and traffic police departments will seize vehicles from Monday. We live on what we earn by driving the cab every day. Now even if for a day we do not operate cabs, we have to suffer financially. It is high time there is a permanent solution to such issues. It should be realised that no one gets affected except the cab drivers, whose lives depend on driving cabs,” he said.

A few drivers are already planning to switch to Uber as they have no other options. Mr Manikanta, another cab driver, said that if Ola continues to operate shoddily, they will soon lose their footing as drivers will shift to the competitor, who will reap benefits.

When Deccan Chronicle spoke to a few regular cab users, they said that it is the shoddiest way of handling business. They said that if Ola continues to operate this way, they will have to shut down soon.

Ms Priyanka Prasad, a regular cab user, said, “This is not the first time that Ola is operating this way. A couple of years ago, there was a problem with the management and drivers over certain issues and many cabs were pulled out. Today, it is the same situation and we had to wait longer as there were fewer cabs on the road. I have already started using other cab services.”

She said that there is no blame game here and the government has performed its duty by cancelling the licence as it has found faults. “It is the duty of the company to comply with the government’s rules. When they don’t, their licence gets cancelled and the government is doing its job. The company has said it will approach the High Court.”