No solace: Now, Uber-Ola drivers in South plan strike on Feb 15

They say earnings are so low, they find it hard to EMIs on car loans taken to enter the business

Drivers attached to taxi aggregator platforms Uber and Ola across the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are planning a joint strike on February 15 to protest against reduced earnings.

"We have spoken to them (drivers from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu) and have agreed on February 15 to go on a joint strike. We are protesting for the same issue -- reduced earnings because they have cut incentives and fares," said Tanveer Pasha, President of the Uber, TaxiForSure and Ola (UTO) Drivers and Owners Association.

Dropping earnings for drivers has been a matter of concern for some months now, with initial protests emerging in Hyderabad and then Bengaluru, the largest market for taxi aggregators. Currently, drivers on both platforms are protesting against the same issues of reducing earnings in Delhi.

Ola did not respond to queries from Business Standard until the time of writing this story, while Uber said it had not received any communication from drivers and did not want to comment on speculation.

Uber and Ola have moved away from offering incentives based on the number of trips to a driver's daily earnings through fares. However, with competition heating up between the two firms, fares have reduced significantly over the past few months, reducing a driver's ability to earn higher incentives.

Drivers have protested against earnings falling to Rs 20,000 to Rs 40,000 from peaks of Rs 80,000 to Rs 100,000. They argue that companies had promised them high earnings compelling them to buy cabs on EMI, but with earnings dropping by more than half they are unable to pay back their monthly installments.

"I have spoken to drivers in Delhi and they are protesting for the same reasons. If they do not listen to us after our strike on February 15, we are planning an all-India strike and get Uber and Ola banned in the whole country," added Pasha.

While Uber and Ola are battling drivers on one end, states too have begun questioning the validity of certain services being offered by the two companies. Karnataka had sought to ban ridesharing services in the state citing the lack of provisions for such services in the law. The state authorities have given both companies time until February 18 to either push for the change to be made in the law or stop the services in the city of Bengaluru.

On the ban, the Karnataka transport department informed Business Standard that it had not been notified by the drivers of the upcoming protests. M K Aiyappa, commissioner of transport of Karnataka had earlier stated that Uber and Ola should resolve issues with drivers internally, avoiding pain to all parties including customers who use their services.

Bengaluru is home to over 100,000 cabs attached on Uber and Ola making it the largest market for ride hailing in the country, while Chennai and Hyderabad are also among the top cities for both firms.