After a crazy growth in the last 5 years, since the time Ola and Uber were introduced in the Indian market, the companies are seeing huge attrition from their platform. There have been regular strikes in the past to fight for civil behaviour from these companies, as well as decent compensation for work.
However, despite the efforts of the workers union, Uber and Ola refused to budge from their word. Ola and Uber’s drivers decided to launch their own app for cab booking, but nothing has been heard of till now.
As a result of all the strikes and resentments, drivers from the two platforms are leaving the service altogether. There has been a lot of attrition on both the platforms, but somehow the two companies are not concerned. Over 10,000 drivers have quit Ola and Uber in last 2 years alone – and a similar trend is seen in all other cities as well where these companies operate.
In fact, very few new drivers are signing up, and both the companies are banking at driver partners in the age group of 18-30. Most of the older ones want higher compensations and hence might not be able to fit in with the model, provided the compensations are low.
“Newer drivers coming on board are aware that the incentives and salaries offered are lower than what they were last year. They are more prepared to work longer hours for lower wages in the pursuit of owning a car in the long run,” said Jaspal Singh, a partner at Valoriser Consultants.
However, it has been commonly seen that drivers on the platform continuously crib about the low wages and longer working hours, especially in large cities like Delhi-NCR and Mumbai, where the commutes are long and pooling rides make it worse.
Most of these drivers are heading back to being personal drivers or drivers associated with a large agency. There is no dearth of drivers, but the drop in wages and incentives is forcing them to leave Uber and Ola.
Ola and Uber Undeterred With this Attrition
Despite so many drivers leaving the platforms, the companies are claiming that this is a sign of maturity and stabilisation of market in India. At a time when all the cash in these companies is burning, the companies are trying to increase the fares and offer fewer concessions to the drivers.
After all, it is a business, and it cannot sustain unless the companies start making profits. The company expects that only the new drivers will stay and continue the operations. The demand for these cabs also is likely to go down due to higher fares, and an increase in carpooling services.
Source: ET
it is taking off because the local State government (New South Wales) has legalised it totally. A number of big insurance companies have no problems with it and covering drivers.
Why is Ola / Uber charging commuters between satellite towns to Delhi 100 Rs on every exit / entry inspite of the fact they buy monthly toll passes at fixed price ? It seems they are trying to cheat customers by overcharging them on name of toll taxes .