The services of Uber, Ola and Rapido have now stopped in Guwahati from February 1. The decision to stop cab and bike taxi services has been taken by All Assam Cab Mazdoor Sangh and All Guwahati Bike and Taxi Union. The union has said that the cab aggregators are continuously harassing the cab drivers, after which it has been decided to stop these services. Both the associations claimed that the companies providing these cab services have been misleading and exploiting the drivers for a long time.
Jyotish Deka, general secretary of All Assam Cab Mazdoor Sangh, said that Ola and Uber started operations in Assam in 2015. In the first year, he gave us good encouragement. But in later days they started harassing the cab drivers. They started taking 40 to 60 percent commission from the cab drivers per trip. Which is wrong.
Deka said that they are also taking running cast from us. If we pay such commission, then nothing is left for us. We work for 18-20 hours. We have to pay car installments to banks and finance companies and do our own maintenance. There is no money left even to take care of our family.
According to a report in the Assam Tribune, currently around 18,000 cabs are operating in the city through Uber and Ola. Apart from this, the Bike Taxi Operators Union has also stopped the Rapido bike taxi aggregator service from February 1. More than 16,000 Rapido bike services will be closed following the shutdown call.
