File photo of Ola, Uber cabbies' strike

MUMBAI: Commuters who are dependent on cab aggregator services are likely to face hardship as the drivers and owners of the vehicles associated with Uber and Ola have decided to go on a strike from November 17 if their demands are not met.

The strike will be frustrating for thousands of Mumbaikars who depend on the aggregator cabs for daily travel on short and long distance routes, and also to and fro office. Many prefer the share cabs to go to workplace.

Marathi Kamgar Sena’s Mahes Jadhav said, “We are going on strike from November 17 and on November 19 a big morcha is planned from Bharat Mata to Vidhan Bhavan.”

The drivers had been on a 12-day strike prior to November 3 after a fortnight long strike following the intervention of state transport minister Diwakar Roate.

At the time of withdrawal, the union had clarified that this was a temporary withdrawal of strike and discussions will be held with the Ola and Uber management for improvement on drivers’ earnings and giving him more ride time charges and other incentives. The union is also demanding fuel hike based fare for drivers in near future.

During the strike period, commuters had faced a hard time due to extra surge in fare and also more waiting time.Those that are seen on app had 17-22 minutes wait period. Even for sharing, the fare charges were Rs 300 per person for distance between Matunga and Kurla.

