Commuters face tough time as autos, taxis stay off roads

Commuters were a harried lot on Monday as autos and taxis refused to ply. “My job involves being on the field and meeting people. Due to the strike I could not find a single taxi. I couldn’t meet a couple of clients. The buses were so crowded that I preferred walking to office.” said Shadab Shaikh, a sales and marketing professional.

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Some hitched a ride with neighbours to get to work. “People who were driving to work were asking others if they needed a ride. I tried booking a taxi but taxi companies said they were no cars available,” said Nikhil, a resident of Wadala.

In a couple of tweets, Rane had indicated that the strike was about “existence” of black-and-yellow taxis and rickshaws, which seem to be threatened by private cab companies. “Black-and-yellow taxis have been the identity of Mumbai for generations. Can we just see them disappear one day because of illegal private cabs?” he had asked.

K K Tiwari, president of Swabhiman Sanghatna in Mumbai, alleged that privately owned cabs are plying illegally in the city as they only have tourist permits and not taxi permits. “These private cabs are causing a loss of business for black-and-yello taxi owners and drivers. The government must ban these vehicles in Mumbai,” he said.

The Mumbai Taximen’s Union, meanwhile, said that while it was not part of the strike on Monday, they had to bear the brunt. “We didn’t participate in the strike but several of our drivers who plied taxis were attacked. Around 150 taxis were damaged,” said Anthony Quadros of Mumbai Taximen Union. Transport commissioner Diwakar Raote said that Shiv Sena union leaders had told him they would not participate in the strike. The transport department also started a crackdown against errant auto and taxi drivers.

“We will try to meet the transport commissioner and submit our demands. They should not play with the lives of 15 lakh auto-rickshaw owners and drivers,” said Shashank Rao, a union leader for auto-rickshaws and taxis.

musab.qazi@expressindia.com