Uber and Ola are changing the way a large section of urban Indians travel. But the real beneficiaries of the convenient conveyance revolution are those who drive taxis for companies such as Ola and Uber. A bit awestruck by their stroke of luck, they now lead transformed lives. While their average monthly income falls anywhere between Rs 60,000 to Rs 75,000 (depending on the number of trips they take), in a good month, their income is computed in six digits. Mirror talked to five such drivers about how they migrated to Mumbai years ago, how they risked losing their family and home to debts, and how they earned it all back.

1. Cabs to riches 30-year-old Hasan Haider Shaikh spent most of his life bent over rolls of fabric in zari and hand embroidery shops in Mumbra and later, Byculla. "I learnt how to embroider when I was 12 or 13 years of age. I really wanted to continue my education, but my family could not afford it. I used to spend around 12 hours in the shop, but in spite of that, my salary was still only around Rs 11,000," he says.



A job at the airport quickly followed, where he had to pick up and drop the cabin crew of a leading Indian airline. But work timings were harsh -- he had to work seven days a week for a monthly salary of Rs 12,000. A friend working with Ola suggested that Shaikh give the job a shot.



"When I joined in July last year, I managed to complete 16 to 17 trips in one day. Once, I even conducted business worth Rs 1,50,000. But now I have taken it a bit easy because I have settled down. But still, on an average, you can easily complete 10 trips per day," he explains.



Shaikh started out by riding a rented car and quickly graduated to buying his own Wagon R. Seven months ago, he purchased his second car and hired a driver as well. "If he works hard, I am able to earn about Rs 20,000 in a single shift, which is 12 hours long,” he explains. "The company has several offers going on. According to the current offer, passengers are charged Rs 11 per kilometre. Ola takes 20% of the money as commission and gives the rest to the driver," he adds.



Sheikh’s work timings now stretch from 6am to 8pm and takes up more trips if he is need of some extra cash. "Everything has changed. Before, buying milk for my one-year-old son was a challenge. Now I can even buy different flavours of Cerelac for him. I always regretted that I could never complete my education. But today, I can educate my son," he smiles.

2. A swift transition Dahisar resident Raju Lakshmanbhai Mena learnt about Ola through a sticker. "At that time, I was working as a private driver for a family, when I saw this sticker on a car. I went back home and asked my children to read up on the internet about the company and they told me that it is a cab aggregator," says Mena, who hails from Ahmedabad and came to Mumbai in 2002.



"I always wanted to do something on my own. When I learnt about Ola, I decided to buy a Swift Dzire, and join the business," he explains.



Mena starts his day at 6am and ends it at 9pm. Although he earns Rs 70,000 to Rs 80,000 on an average, he has managed to touch the Rs 85,000 to Rs 90,000 mark a couple of times.



“I don't have a fixed route -- I drive all across Andheri, Thane and Navi Mumbai. When I used to work for the family as their driver, I used to earn only around Rs 10,000. Now, I feel like this is my own business and I can work whenever I want. After earning so much money, the first thing I did was renovate my house. I bought branded electronic items such as a TV and a washing machine," he grins.

3. Fast track to success Umesh Kumar Gupta, 40, was 11 when he came to Mumbai from Gorakhpur, his hometown in Uttar Pradesh, to earn a living. He first worked as a domestic help for a family. In the quest for a better job, he joined a travel and tourism company, which offered him a ringside view of the travel and hospitality industry. "I wanted to do something on my own. After I quit my first job, I had to sleep on the road for four days," he remembers.



In mid 2014, friends from a tourism company mentioned that Uber has hired cars and drivers from the company and that they were on the lookout for more. Post training, Gupta started clocking in regular hours and in the first 10 days, he earned Rs 13,000. The next month, he earned Rs 25,000.



"There is great dignity attached to this job. If you have something personal to attend to, you can switch off the app. For instance, I have switched off the app for four days now as my wife is unwell. If this service gets scrapped, lakhs of drivers like me will have to return to the road. We will lose our freedom," he explains.



Gupta has no fixed working hours. He explains that it can range from two to even 10 hours and sometimes, even more. His average monthly income falls under the Rs 75,000 to Rs 85,000 bracket. Two months ago, on a day he had earned his highest income of nearly Rs 90,000, his last trip was for actor Arbaaz Khan, who requested to be taken to and fro from his home in Bandra. "Normally, Uber does not allow cars to wait for a long period. But since this was my last trip for the day, they agreed," he smiles.



Gupta prides himself on being impeccably behaved with passengers, thanks to his travel and hospitality background. What’s the one complaint that passengers have had about him? "That I don’t drive fast," he laughs.

4. Striking out on her own Harpreet Kaur, 30, came to Mumbai roughly 10 years ago, after getting married. Prior to that, she worked for a private company in Dubai where she had to pick and drop staff members. Kaur, who hails from Madhya Pradesh, first worked at a clothing store in the city before driving for Uber.



Kaur is on the road for almost 10 hours per day. "On Friday nights, Saturdays and Sundays, I work till 10pm and sometimes even till 12am since you invariably get a lot of trips then," she explains. On other days, her work timings extend from 8am to 7pm.



Kaur explains that she is yet to experience an untoward incident. "Touchwood," she adds quickly. "In fact, most passengers, especially ladies, are very relieved to see a female driver. Besides, I always carry my pepper spray and baseball bat with me," adds the Chembur-resident.



During the festive season in December last year, she managed to earn her highest income yet -- nearly Rs 85,000. "I am happy now. There is very little tension. After my job here, we were also able to purchase a plot in Kalyan," she smiles.