Illegal Taxis: Chandigarh tricity cab drivers warn of protest outside Raj Bhavan

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Chandigarh, September 14

The Tricity Cab Association (TCA) has threatened to hold a protest outside the Punjab Raj Bhavan on September 26 if the State Transport Authority (STA) failed to stop unauthorised aggregators from illegally plying bike taxis and private four-wheelers.

The announcement was made during a meeting of the cab drivers yesterday. Research scholars who are studying the gig economy of tricity also participated in the meeting.

With the infusion of unlimited cars by gig platforms in the tricity, drivers are facing extreme competition. Many drivers are logged into apps for 24 hours to earn their livelihoods as they have to wait for four to five hours to get one ride. Adding to their misery, aggregators are attaching private bikes for plying on roads as commercial vehicles, said Vikram Singh, president of the association.

He said, “There are nearly 15,000-20,000 cabs running in the tricity. Aggregators are illegally operating private bikes and taxis. Cab drivers have to pay so many taxes, get insurance and maintain so many documents. The administration is taking no action against the unauthorised private bikes and taxis operating without any document.”

He added, “As our earnings have shrunk due to stiff market competition, we are even struggling to pay for EMIs, car insurances and permit fee.”