The private transporters’ strike hit commuters in the morning as autorickshaws, cabs, and vehicles ferrying children to schools went off the roads as part of the strike. Though the strike was called off later in the afternoon, cab and autorickshaw services resumed only partially, continuing to posing hurdles to commuters.
As the Karnataka Union of School and Light Motor Vehicle Drivers’ Association had announced support for the strike call, city schools responded to this in a varied manner. While some schools had declared a holiday on Monday, many held online classes returning to the pandemic-mode. However, most schools held physical classes on Monday.
“Students did not experience any difficulty getting to schools as most parents dropped them. Only schools which are largely dependent on the services of private buses/vans, mostly in the CBD area, declared a holiday as students could not reach without private vehicles,” said Shashikumar D., general secretary, Karnataka Associated Management of Schools (KAMS).
However, many parents who were inconvenienced by the strike call opted to not send their wards to schools on Monday. Maheshwari, a domestic worker at Yelahanka, said: “The school van for my daughter did not come in the morning. As both my husband and I had to get to work, we decided to let her stay at home on Monday. As she is still young, we cannot let her take public transport alone.”
Rescheduled appointments
While there was no major impact for hospitals due to the strike, according to some private hospitals in the city, OPD patients with prior appointments with the doctors arrived late. The patients were not able to hire a cab or autorickshaws especially till afternoon. A staff at a private hospital in Seshadripuram said patients who took appointments for morning visits arrived only late in the afternoon. A few patients had to cancel appointments. However, emergency cases had no impact.
Sparse traffic, many decide to stay home
The city streets saw sparse traffic on Monday, except in those routes where private transporters took out rallies to converge at Freedom Park, where they held a protest. Traffic snarls were observed on Mysuru Road, Tumakuru Road, and J.C. Road. However, the core city within the Outer Ring Road (ORR) saw less than usual traffic through the day.
Though BMTC and Namma Metro were the sole options of transport available, contrary to expectations, Kempegowda Bus Station (KBS), the largest public transport hub in the city, had relatively lower footfall on Monday. K.N. Giriraj, a BMTC official in KBS, said they were seeing lower footfall in both BMTC and KSRTC bus stands. “Since there was sufficient awareness about the bandh for at least a week now, many people seem to have cancelled travel plans they had for Monday,” he said.
The few autos and taxis operating had their reasons. “I support the protest call, but I can’t afford to let go of a day’s earnings given my precarious financial condition,” said auto driver Kantharaju.
Some private vehicles fleece commuters
One of the major demands of the protesting auto and cab driver unions was a ban on bike taxis which they termed “illegal”. However, they remained the only private fare transport plying the city streets in the first half of Monday. Bike taxi apps reported higher than usual demand and surge pricing till afternoon when the strike was called off and cab services resumed.
The few autorickshaws that were plying were demanding higher-than-usual rates even for short distances, sometimes “triple metre charges,” complained commuters. Chudamani G.S. was seen quarrelling with an auto driver in Malleshwaram for demanding ₹300 to Nandini Layout. Usually, the fare is around ₹120, she said, adding that there is no direct bus to Nandini Layout from Malleswaram.
