American based cab and mobility service provider, Uber, announced that their travel fairs are set to increase by 15% to offset the increase in price of fuel in Mumbai. Currently, the price of petrol in Mumbai stands at Rs 118.41 while diesel, as usual is a bit lower at Rs. 102.64. But its not just Mumbai facing this issue, as the entire country is experiencing daily price rises in petrol, diesel and CNG. Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore have all crossed the Rs.100 threshold and the price hikes don’t seem to slow down.
Over the past 10 days, the price of fuel in Mumbai went up by over Rs. 6 per liter. To give you some perspective, the price of fuel used to hover around the Rs. 75 per liter mark less than three years ago. Its safe to say that the Indian public are finding it hard to cope with these rises in prices.
Cab drivers have had to bear the brunt of the constant increase in prices. These past three years have not treated this profession and industry too kindly. Ever since the advent of covid in 2019, cab drivers have barely been able to stay afloat, let alone make money, feed their families and pay back their loans.
As people stayed home to abide the government’s decision to impose a lockdown, cab drivers had almost no business. While Swiggy and Zomato delivery drivers were able to continue their business as usual. But the same could not have been said about Ola and Uber drivers.
In various cities across India, cab drivers came together, starting a movement to switch of their ACs to educate and inform other drivers, their customers, and the government about rising petrol prices and the way it plagues their livelihood.
With summer season setting in a bit earlier than usual, drivers are still adamant about not turning their ACs on until they feel heard by the government. Cab drivers had even gone to the extent of banding up with auto rickshaw drivers to take part in a nationwide movement about rising gas prices. The movement was fairly popular and made its rounds across social media apps but the price of fuel still continues the rise.
India purchased around 3 million barrels of crude oil from Russia last month during a time when the entire world placed an embargo on the nation. This had saved the country from experiencing skyrocketing prices. Only time will tell about the fate of fuel prices not only in India, but worldwide.
