After three to four days of going on strike, drivers on homegrown cab hailing application Ola called off the strike on Wednesday.
Drivers on Uber followed suit 24 hours later by calling off the strike in Mumbai and other cities after meeting the driver union on Thursday.
However, drivers of Sarvodaya Drivers Association, the main cab drivers’ union in Delhi-NCR claims the drivers will be on strike for a day more. According to commuters and analysts in Delhi, there has been a delay of half an hour to one hour in getting cabs, but rides are still available.
“We have decided to press our demands further, as members of the union we plan to stop operations temporarily for at least 24 hours,” said Kamaljeet Gill, president of the union. According to Sanjay Naik, representative of MNS drivers’ union, union members met with Uber’s management and the police and have reached an agreement to improve the condition of drivers.
“We have a written agreement that our demands will be met,” added Naik. The driven union belongs to the transport wing of the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena which led the strike in Mumbai.
An Uber spokesperson confirmed the development in a statement claiming to have met the driver partners in Mumbai and that they had addressed their concerns.
“We met with a delegation of driver partners and continue to engage with driver partners on a one-on-one basis. We have heard their concerns and taken note of the feedback. We remain committed to serving the city, ensuring driver partners can continue to access stable earning opportunities, while giving riders a convenient option to get around Maharashtra,” said an Uber spokesperson.
Analysts estimate the Delhi-NCR region strike will have a temporary effect on consumers getting rides with close to no impact on the operations of the cab-hailing applications. “This is yet another temporary strike that is unlikely to have any impact on either of the cab-hailing applications,” said Jaspal Singh, partner at Valoriser Consultants.