Damaged cars, assault and blackmail: Terrified Uber drivers stay off Mumbai roads fearing attacks

There is a battle unfolding on the streets of India’s financial capital and it is only getting uglier.

Taxi-hailing application Uber, which is expecting its business in India to overtake its US operations in time, is facing yet another hurdle in Maharashtra where bodies representing taxi drivers and auto rickshaws have also resorted to hooliganism and violence to ensure that cab aggregators do not ply on the streets of Mumbai and Pune. In the past they have gone on a strike to protest against apps like Ola and Uber.

On Thursday, Uber issued a statement requesting its users for support after a few “politically motivated” groups publicly threatened to shut down aggregator services by not only calling for city-wide strikes and resorting to violence, but by also holding driver partners to ransom by assaulting drivers, damaging cars, and forcibly taking away company-owned equipment (mobile phones).

Uber said these drivers were scared, and most of them were going off the roads, which could now result in a shortage of private taxis provided by aggregators in the coming days.

The aggregator claims that these ‘politically motivated groups’ have threatened to shut down such services in the city after strikes and are trying to pressurize the government to pass laws against them in Maharashtra. There is pressure to enforce a rule that would allow the issuance of a Public Service Vehicle badge to only those applicants who have lived in Maharashtra for more than 15 years and can read and write in Marathi. Secondly, a proposed restriction on fares is being contemplated which could result in artificially created higher fares and decreased availability of these cabs.

“The group’s campaign is aimed at pressurising the government to pass laws that could have a damaging impact on the aggregator industry in Maharashtra, causing the loss of tens of thousands of jobs and earnings for drivers and reliable, safe and affordable transportation choices for the city,” Uber said in a statement.

Sources told _Firstpos_t that these ‘politically motivated groups’ were activists from Nitish Rane’s Swabhiman Union and Shashank Rao’s Mumbai Autorickshaw-Taximen’s Union (MAU).

Rane, leader of Swabhiman taxi union and MLA from Kankavali, had earlier last month termed private taxi aggregators “illegal”, while calling for a strike. K K Tiwari, Mumbai president of the union had said the strike “is only an alarm to the state government”. “…if our demands are not met, then the union would be forced to launch an intensive agitation,” he had said.

The union had even sought a ban on the app-driven service providers from the state transport department.

In July, the state transport department had even warned Nitesh Rane’s union from terrorising and threatening taxi aggregators,  but it appears the union is back to its ‘manhandling tactics.’

The behaviour of the unions is condemnable, especially given the aggregators provide a service that many cab and autorickshaw drivers don’t. In many cases commuters are left stranded when cabs refuse to travel shorter distances or certain locations.  It however, remains to be seen if Uber will be allowed to remain in Maharashtra or if the collective power of cabbies will drive them out. As things stand now there is no level playing field.

“We condemn the use of intimidation or violence to seek change. Uber stands firmly by the government to create sector-specific regulations for aggregators that are progressive and continues to be willing to engage in constructive dialogue and consultation to make regulation that benefits the community of riders, drivers and the city,” Uber said in a statement.