There have been continuing protests recently by auto and taxi drivers that demanded the Government to act fair with Ola and Uber, who have been running their cabs without appropriate licenses in India. Fortunately, Ola and Uber are here to stay and despite these protests, the Government cannot eliminate the cab aggregators at once.
Uber and Ola have understood the gravity of the situation and the San Francisco based technology company has come up with a solution to the woes. Uber has announced a scheme called ‘Mi Pan Malak’ that aims at encouraging taxi and auto drivers across cities to join its platform.
The phrase ‘If you can’t beat them, join them’ comes to my mind immediately. Uber is actually requesting, and I believe help, the drivers to join its platform so that they can experience the service, which Uber thinks is unparalleled and extremely good.
Currently this scheme is available only in Mumbai, but is expected to spread to other cities in India. In Uber’s defence, the Uber partners are actually earning quite well with the same amount of effort and time.
The cab aggregator also claims that the ‘kaali-peeli’ taxis are rented out to these drivers for 12 hours for at the most Rs. 600 a day(excluding CNG). When a driver become an Uber partner, he/she can purchase the car and be his/her own boss. Depending on the number of rides, the driver will receive money from the company.
And these platforms have incentives for drivers as well, so this keeps them engaged and help the citizens as well. The kaali-peeli taxis, on the other hand, are not so incentivized and although they charge more, the number of rides tend to be lower, offsetting the higher rates.
How is Uber helping these drivers?
You cannot expect a taxi or an auto driver to purchase a car and partner with Uber from the first day itself. Instead, the company has tied up with financial institutions and manufacturers to provide vehicles for as low as Rs. 25,000 as down payments.
Uber and Tata already have a partnership to help drivers with end-to-end vehicle purchase, registration and insurance and Uber is taking it further by tying up with more manufacturers and financial institutions.
A lot of auto and taxi drivers have actually transitioned from their existing taxis to Uber’s platform and are reaping benefits from it. One cannot deny the fact that Uber is just a medium that allows passengers and drivers to connect, but it is a lot easier in these urban cities to find passengers for a taxi.
The Maharashtra Government has also signed an agreement with Uber to create jobs in the state, so the company is already helping the state in increasing the employment rate. Uber’s initiative seems to be a good example of companies in India working towards improving the conditions here.
Whether the taxi and auto drivers in Mumbai will take it in a good spirit is yet to be seen, but Uber has at least made an effort to educate the drivers in the city about the platform and its benefits.
Source: UNI
