Hyderabad: Ola and Uber taxis are vanishing fast from the roads of Hyderabad. There were around 1,20,000 taxis of these two companies plying in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad in the past. But their number came down to 40,000 now. Similarly, the number of vehicles plying between city and airport has decreased drastically. According to Taxi Drivers Association officials, the situation of taxi drivers is extremely bad. There is no improvement in their condition since the coronavirus lockdown. Their financial situation is deteriorating with each passing day. Thousands of drivers were unable to pay instalments of their taxis to the banks. After the unlock when the situation was started to improve the flood came affecting 5,000 taxi drivers as water damaged their vehicles.
After the flood, the banks started impounding the vehicles due to which many drivers started plying their taxis during the night to earn their livelihood. The government was informed about the difficulties faced by these drivers. However, the Government had not announced any relief for them
According to drivers, the IT companies were the biggest sources of their incomes in twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad. But the situation which developed after the coronavirus lockdown does not give any hope that the things would be normal soon. On the contrary, a new culture of ‘Work from Home’ is being promoted in IT sector which is likely to persist for at least another year. In this situation, the taxi drivers as well as its owners are facing extreme financial difficulties. Same is the case of Uber and Ola drivers.
