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“If they can make apps, why can’t we?” said Anthony Quadros, general secretary of the Mumbai Taximen’s Union. “To compete with Ola and Uber, we can’t just sit back. We have to launch a counter attack.”
Taxi unions in India are creating their own apps to compete with Uber and its Indian rival Ola in a fresh attempt to win back clients from app-based cab services. In Mumbai, India’s financial capital, two taxi unions have come together to launch an Uber-style app for local cabbies. In Kolkata, the Bengal Taxi Association is also gearing up to launch their own app and door-to-door service.
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The move points to a growing resignation in India and around the world that ride-hailing apps are here to stay despite the best efforts of drivers and their unions. The growth of Uber, Lyft and other regional apps have prompted international taxi strikes, with unions arguing that the new app-based services don’t have to adhere to the same licensing standards as local taxis because of gaps in regulation in cities around the world.
"We have to compete, we have to provide the same service they are providing.”
In some cases, these strikes have worked. In the U.S., Nevada recently became the first state to ban Uber. In the Indian states of Karnatakaand Madhya Pradesh, the app has been banned completely. In other countries such as Thailandand Germany, Uber has had to withdraw certain services because of increasing pressure and restrictions from governments. In parts of Europe, Taiwan, New Zealandand many other countries, lawmakers are putting increasing pressure on the company to comply with local regulations for taxi services.
Delhi Taxi drivers and members of Delhi Taxi Tourist Transport Association stage a protest on May 8, 2016 in New Delhi, India. Credit: Hindustan Times via Getty Images/Sonu Mehta But most of the strikes have been futile. In 2014, a Europe-wide taxi strike against Uber ended up working to the company’s advantage. Uber reported that the publicity from the strikes had led to an 850% increase in new sign ups the following day. In many cases, taxi strikes have simply been ignored by politicians and local media.
Now, unions in India are switching their strategy; if they can’t beat Uber and Ola, perhaps they can compete with them.
“Strikes don’t work,” said Sanjiv Roy, assistant secretary of the Bengal Taxi association. “We have gone on strike many times but nobody takes notice, and it ends up costing the taxi driver a day’s wages, for nothing in return. We have to compete, we have to provide the same service they are providing.”
If you can't beat 'em
The app in Mumbai, called 9211, named after a famous Bollywood film about a cabbie with the same licence plate number, was launched in January and currently has 1,300 users.
“The reason people use Ola and Uber, especially in the suburbs of Mumbai, is because reaching a taxi stand is such a hassle. Sometimes you have to take a rickshaw to the nearest taxi stand, sometimes you have to walk a kilometre or two. With Ola and Uber the cabs come to you, so its more convenient for the clients," Quadros said.
Taxis queued in front of Howrah station on January 30, 2016 in Kolkata, India. Credit: Hindustan Times via Getty Images/ Indranil Bhoumik The introduction of the apps is out of necessity. Ola and Uber’s rise in India has been devastating for cab drivers, who pay large amounts for licences to drive cabs.
“We don’t have millions of rupees to pour into the apps like the big companies do, but we are vetted drivers, and people trust us.”
“We’re suffering huge losses,” Quadros said. “On average, a taxi driver in Mumbai’s suburbs is losing around 30 to 35 percent of his monthly earnings to Uber and Ola. To make up that loss, they’re now working 16 hour days instead of 12 hours. It’s very bad for the health of the drivers, but who’s there to control this?”
The new taxi hailing app works similarly to Ola and Uber and offers users discounts in some parts of the city. The unions have outsourced the app design and its day-to-day running to an external company.
“We will recapture the market,” said Quadros. “We don’t have millions of rupees to pour into the apps like the big companies do, but we are vetted drivers, and people trust us.”
A bumpy road ahead
Quardros and Roy are optimistic about the future, but also realistic about what even a successful app will mean. Uber and Ola have massive war chests to subsidize the price of rides, keeping their fares low. Meanwhile, other market forces aren't helping.
“The problem for us is that fuel prices have been going up, but taxi fares have been fixed at the same rate for years. So we’re all making losses, the whole business is sinking. It means that often cab drivers refuse to take passengers short distances and so people have switched to Ola and Uber,” Roy said. “We want a positive way to save the yellow taxis.”
Taxis queue up outside the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, Mumbai. Due to the strike, there were hardly any takers. Credit: Hindustan Times via Getty Images/Ritesh Uttamchandani However, despite recognising the need to modernise, the union’s efforts to improve their services are stymied by a lack of investment from the government. While taxis are privately run, some drivers hope the government, which regulates the industry, will provide cellphones so they can compete with Uber and Ola.
“We have enough money to get the app built ourselves, and many companies willing to do it for us, but the problem here is that most of the taxi drivers don’t have smartphones. We’ve asked the government to provide us with smartphones, but nobody wants to do that, so we are stuck,” Roy said.
Meanwhile, a string of new aggregator apps, such as Taxi for Sure, KolTaxi, and Jugnoo for rickshaws are also giving local cabbies and rickshaw drivers the opportunity to participate in India’s new app economy.
An Uber spokesperson said, "At Uber, we believe competition is always good for the consumers.”
“We are confident of the superior quality of our product which has been tried and tested by millions of riders and driver-partners across the globe. All the knowledge and data harvested by this extensive network helps us build a better product and even better consumer experience, that’s our priority and we encourage people from all walks of life, who would like to earn a livelihood with dignity, to join our platform and reap its benefit."
Ola did not respond to Mashable’s request for comment.