Hyderabad: The notice given by the Telangana State Taxi and Drivers Joint Action Committee for indefinite strike from October 19 has commuters, already facing trouble due to the RTC strike, worried. With taxis being off the roads, the commuters state that it will be a nightmare for them.
Mrs Sheela P, a software employee, said, “The government must re-look into their transport policy. Why is the transport sector taking people to ransom? There is no proper public transport from one end to another and for that reason, citizens are suffering.”
The call of the taxi drivers has got many of them agitated as festival shopping too will take a beating. Many commuters who use the taxis for their collective festive shopping say that they will now have to opt for other methods like online shopping.
But there are certain puja items which many of them prefer to personally pick up on their own. They are now planning to get it home-delivered and have asked the shops to provide them with this facility.
Mohammed Younus Ali, an employee in a multinational company, said the proposed strike of the drivers working for private taxi operators is unwarranted. “We are already spending too much of money in commuting due to the RTC strike. The daily expenses of travel have jumped to three times for a salaried person. The government must first resolve the RTC strike and also deal with the other transport unions so that there are no hardships for the common man.”
The threat of the private taxi drivers is going to affect the corporate sector the most as they rely on these services. While the success rate of the strike is a huge question, drivers who are hardly able to earn Rs 15,000 per month would not want to do away with their daily income.
