Ola or Uber Cab drivers sitting at home with No Income
Currently offices, malls, restaurants, airports, railway stations are all shut due to the lockdown. No one is travelling unless absolutely necessary. What this also means is that no one is booking an ola or an Uber. As a result of this, lakhs of cab drivers across the country are now sitting at home with absolutely no income. Inayat Ali, a driver from bengaluru has a family of six. With his income becoming zero, Inayat is worried sick about being able to feed his family, educate his kids and pay his bills. Moreover, though the bank he has taken car loan from has offered him a three-month moratorium, he worries about the additional interest he will have to pay eventually.
And for some drivers, the Reserve bank of India’s announcement of moratorium does not help, as many take loans from smaller financial institutions and loan sharks. drivers that TNM spoke to say that while uber and ola have come forward to announce some measures for drivers, not only are they inadequate, but relief has not reached the majority of the drivers. Sources in ola told that the company has been receiving calls from various drivers for financial support and that it is reaching out to as many as it can, especially to those who need it the most.
Shaik Salauddin, National General Secretary of the indian Federation of App-based Transport workers (IFAT) reveals that data collected by IFAT from over 5,000 ola and uber drivers from across 51 cities and 15 states has shown that drivers were making only Rs 300-350 on an average after logging in for 12-14 hours each day as rides reduced since march, even before the lockdown. ola, on the other hand, launched the ola Sahyog, a scheme where it is offering interest-free loans to drivers, and the Drive the driver Fund, through which it is offering medical assistance for non-COVID-19 conditions, and is distributing essentials to driver partners.