Cab drivers end indefinite strike

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Chandigarh, August 19

Members of the Cab and Auto Union today called off their 10-day old indefinite hunger strike after getting assurance from senior officials of the UT Administration that they would look into their demands.

Two members of the union had been on hunger strike at the Sector 25 ground since August 10.

Inderbhan Singh, president of the Cab and Auto Union, said senior officials of the Transport Department visited the dharma site today. They agreed to look into most of their demands, including safety of cab drivers, illegal plying of bike and car taxis etc. Apart from seeking a safer working environment, the drivers flagged various financial issues such as unfair commission structures, taxation complexities and high rentals, he said.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson stated that the UT Administration had granted aggregator licence to two companies, namely OLA and Uber, to run cab services in the city. The Administration advised the general public to book cabs having yellow commercial number plates through these two companies for the safety of the general public and not to book cabs through un-registered app-based aggregator companies. It is also advised not to travel in cab/bike having private numbers (white plates), which is illegal, failing which strict legal action will be taken against passengers as well as drivers of private vehicle.

The panic buttons are also installed in commercial cabs, which can be pressed in case of emergency. The Administration has fixed a maximum fare for cab at Rs 34 per kilometre in UT.

If any cab operator/company is found overcharging, the STA office may be contacted on 0172-2700159 or email sta18-chd@nic.in immediately. If any cab operator takes a wrong route or lengthy one, commuters may press the panic button and call the police helpline 112.