Meter Down: Covid hurts, rue cabbies

What was once a lourishing trade has hit an all-time low, taking down with it thousands who began to depend on the recent development of Bengaluru people hailing a tax at the drop of a hat. Cab drivers are now unsure where their next meal will come from, reports Nischith N.

With the easing of weekend curfew restrictions, taxi drivers, who have not had a regular income since December when Covid cases soared, are a relieved lot. Cab aggregators too became hopeful that ridership would go up during weekends. However, fear among the public to resume regular activities has resulted in the service of only 50 per cent of cabs in Bengaluru being availed during this high-demand period.

“We are facing a severe financial crisis, and the government has kept the night curfew. This is adversely affecting the transport and tourism sectors. Over the past two years, the transport segment has completely collapsed due to Covid and workfrom- home arrangements. The government’s decision to remove the weekend curfew was a huge relief to traders and those in the services sector. But fear in people still continues as Saturday and Sunday, cabs are receiving poor response” said Devraj, an Ola cab driver.

While night curfew between 10 pm to 5 am continues to be in effect, cab aggregators were hoping that they would receive increased response during weekends. Outstation cabs are not having it any different either. The situation is so grave that those few who do get to drive customers out of town are hesitating to take up the assignments, for fear of having to return without passengers. Losses are only adding up, and drivers have been complaining that they are struggling to even pay up their vehicle and business loans. Not to mention the GST, motor vehicle tax and insurance.

Going forward, they want the government to come up with different initiatives without impacting daily business activities. Employees of the IT/BT sector have the privilege of working from home and getting paid, but that is not how it is with cab drivers. Even those who are driving their own cabs are not able to pay EMIs of vehicles bought through loans. It is disheartening that the government has not even waived off interests on EMIs payable on these cabs, they rue.

“We always welcome government decisions, like the implementation recently of Covid-19-appropriate behaviour during journeys.

The response of people, though, leaves a lot to be desired. Understandably, they are still afraid to travel, which again is because of a government decision. Those working from home are free only during weekends. It will take a month or so after the lifting of the curfew for people to come out and shop,” another taxi driver Prasad V said.

For a marked change in the travel scenario, cab drivers had put forth two demands – withdrawal of weekend curfew and extension of the beginning of night curfew to 11 pm. Also, drivers have been demanding that the government instruct banks and private lenders not to force them to pay EMIs for vehicle loans for at least three months.

“Last year, when the lockdown was relaxed, within a few days, private financiers started harassing us demanding repayment of loans. We have faced the same problems this time too. Due to the weekend curfew, we had no business. Now, that has been relaxed, but isn’t very effective, for people are still reluctant to move about freely. I got just one booking from Jayanagar to Lulu Mall on Sunday. Can you imagine what it is like to service only one client an entire day? I returned home having lost much more than I earned. The government is not providing ration kits or sanitisers to cab and auto drivers. As reported, only a few drivers received the compensation announced during the first and second waves. A number of us have literally been dumped on the streets due to this Covid. How do we pay our EMIs? So we request the government to reduce the night curfew hours, and also maintain its stance to help increase business activities,” Prasad added.

According to reports, pre-Covid, there were as many as 1.47 lakh cabs on Bengaluru roads. Effects of the pandemic have reduced this number to a mere 55,000 (including airport cabs). Across Bengaluru, only about 23,000 cabs operated on Saturday and Sunday. People have not got over what they experienced during the previous Covid waves, especially the second one. Mental health issues, the least understood ones, are difficult to overcome overnight.

“Negative reports they are bombarded with create panic among people, leaving them scared to step out. Also, prevailing symptoms of common cold and fever have reached almost every household, to take away from people courage to venture out they may have been gar nering,” Dr Vikas, a city-based anaesthesiologist who manages Covid patients, said.