Following the continuous surge in fuel prices, there are reports of cab aggregator cab drivers switching off air conditioning in their vehicles to save on petrol, diesel or gas.
The drivers and their associations here in Mumbai claim that by switching off AC, they would earn a mileage of 2-3 kms per litre. According to one of the complaints made on microblogging site Twitter on March 25, the driver refused to turn on AC unless the passenger agreed to pay extra for the cool breeze. Going an extra mile, the cabbie even hung a leaflet, as per the photograph posted, that mentioned AC will be kept on with extra charges plus added tariff calculated according to the kilometers travelled.
This incident didn’t take place in Mumbai however the city drivers and their associations claim that there is every possibility that it could happen here as well. As on March 27, petrol prices in Mumbai saw a hike of 53 paise/litre while diesel shot up by 58 paise/litre.
As a result, petrol cost soared to Rs 113.88/litre from Rs 113.35/litre and diesel went up to Rs 98.13/litre from Rs 97.55/litre. Complaining about the fuel costs, a member of Maharashtra Rajya Rashtriya Kamgar Sangh and union leader for aggregator cabs driver’s union said, “The aggregator cab operators are not doing anything about increasing the base fare which is still around Rs 6-7.
There is no doubt, such instances might happen even in Mumbai.” The rising fuel prices have also worried the drivers about the earnings hence they are resorting to switching off ACs as a cost-cutting measure. Meanwhile, the aggregators claim that they don’t back such behavior from drivers. “Uber does not levy extra charges for switching on the AC during a ride and any driver who is charging such a fee will face action from the company for violating our community guidelines. In case of the driver’s refusal, riders have the option to reach Uber via in-app chat messages and post-trip feedback. Continued noncompliance by drivers may lead to them losing access to the Uber app,” said an Uber spokesperson.
