Hyderabad: Cab drivers in city turn the AC tariff heat on app aggregators

Hyderabad: Amid the scorching summer heat, possibly one of the hottest years on record, the cabs in Hyderabad have adopted a ‘no AC’ campaign in a bid to fight against the app aggregators to increase the tariffs. Currently, the rates are less than Rs 12 per km, and cab drivers are seeking uniform fares per km for all taxis attached to platform companies.

The most-used hailing apps, Ola and Uber, are under fire as cab drivers have adopted a ‘no AC’ policy amid low commissions for the drivers. The Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) said on Monday that the workers’ union has initiated a ‘no AC’ campaign as they find it unsustainable to operate their ACs in cabs due to declining per-km fares.

TGPWU founder president Shaik Salauddin said, “We drivers working with Uber, Ola, and Rapido apps are unable to turn on the AC in our cabs due to declining per-kilometre fares.”

He said that with temperatures in Hyderabad soaring up to 43 degrees Celsius, turning on the AC results in a rise in fuel and maintenance costs. “The cost of running our cabs with AC is Rs 16–18 per kilometre. After accounting for commissions charged by Uber, Ola, and Rapido, we are able to earn only Rs 10 per kilometre. With deep regret, we drivers informed all customers who are hailing our services of our inability to offer high-quality rides. We request that all our customers on this matter, if they require the AC to be switched on during rides, kindly offer us a tip to help us adequately meet the costs,” said Salauddin.

Through this campaign, we hope that we are able to reach out to the government and platform companies to pay timely attention to the daily issues faced by drivers of all app-based taxis. Salauddin said, “We, the drivers, request the Telangana State government to urgently implement uniform fares per kilometre for all taxis attached to platform companies. We further urge the State government to ensure that the platform companies comply with government-directed regulations.”

“Inconvenience to our customers and to ourselves as drivers is not our intention, however, as our requests to the State government and to platform companies are repeatedly going unheard, we are left with little choice but to launch this ‘no AC’ campaign,” he added. The union recently appealed to the State transport commissioner to take strict action against illegal cab services and implement uniform fares for city taxis and app-based taxis.