The Uber drivers on Tuesday called on Telangana Transport Minister Mahender Reddy seeking action against the Uber management for its failure to honour the promises that it made with them.
Led by Telangana State Cabs and Bus Operators Association (TSCBOA) President Syed Nizamuddin, a delegation comprising of Rajshekar Reddy, Anil Kumar, Satyanarayana, Narasimha and Arun Kanth Reddy, submitted a representation to the Transport Minisiter. They complained that the drivers were lured and cheated by the Uber management with the promises of huge income. Based on Uber management’s promise of monthly earnings of Rs. 70,000/- and other incentives, nearly 15,000 drivers enrolled themselves and majority of them purchased new vehicles by borrowing loans on high interest rates. However, the Uber management withdrew the incentives and the drivers are now unable to earn even Rs. 15,000 per month. “The drivers fell into a debt trap. They are unable to even pay monthly interest on the loans that they took to purchase new vehicles. Instead of being sympathetic, the Uber management has even refused to speak to them,” Nizamuddin told the Minister.
The TSCBOA leaders urged the minister to regulate the aggregators in travel industry like Uber and Ola Cabs to ensure that they do not cheat the poor drivers to sabotage the organised travel industry of Telangana State. They complained that some aggregators like Uber were resorting to unethical practices to establish their base in Hyderabad. In the process, they are destroying the lives of poor drivers and small tour operators using huge funds.
The Uber drivers also met Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee (TPCC) President N. Uttam Kumar Reddy who assured to raise the issue in the next session of State Legislative Assembly. He assured that the Congress party would not tolerate injustice with the drivers.
Later, the TSCBOA delegation called on CPI State Secretary Dr. K. Narayana seeking his help to resolve the problems of Uber drivers. The CPI leader gave an assurance that his party would launch an agitation to help the drivers and ensure that no organisation exploits them in future with fake promises. (INN)