HYDERABAD: Cab drivers in the city are financially badly hit as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak, and with the situation seeing no signs of improvement, many are considering to return to their native place rather than stay in the city. As Express had reported earlier, the revenues of cab drivers have dried up due to the decrease in passengers. Now, due to successive losses, many are leaving the city.
For instance, Srikanth, a driver, has to pay a monthly EMI of Rs 21,000 towards the repayment of his cab loans. He saves Rs 700 per day towards this. On top of that, he also has to incur fuel expenses, to the tune of Rs 1,000.
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On other days, he would be able to cover the Rs 1,700 expense for his EMI and diesel and still would be able to save a sum from his livelihood. However, now, due to the coronavirus outbreak and due to the loss in revenues, Srikanth can only accrue an income of Rs 1,700.
He is mulling to return to his native place in Suryapet where he plans to make some money ferrying passengers to and from weddings. This has been the case for many drivers who work for app-based aggregators such as Ola and Uber. Apart from the economical impact, it is also a health hazard.
This aspect has been time and again raised by Shaik Salahuddin, national general secretary of the Indian Federation of App-based Transport workers.
“Ola and Uber companies are essentially not taking the health and safety of its customers and drivers as a matter of priority. No walk-in centres have been developed or equipped with supplies of health advisory material, sanitisers, disinfectants and masks which could be picked up and used by the drivers,” he said.