Uber, Ola drivers hit by losses; on indefinite strike: Top 10 developments

Ola and Uber drivers allege their earnings are not enough for them to make ends meet

Do you use Ola and Uber for your daily commute? If yes, you may want to find other modes of transport as Raj Thackeray’s Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has called for an indefinite strike of drivers of cab aggregators Uber and Ola starting Monday midnight.

The strike, which will be observed in key cities like Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, aims to voice the drivers’ woes of not being able to cover rising costs due to falling business. They are currently being paid Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per month, according to media reports.

"Ola and Uber had given big assurances to the drivers, but today they are unable to cover their costs. They have invested Rs 500,000 to Rs 700,000 and were expecting to make Rs 150,000 a month. But drivers are unable to make even half of this because of the mismanagement by these companies," said Sanjay Naik of Maharashtra Navnirman Vahatuk Sena, reported news agency PTI.

Naik accused Ola and Uber of giving priority to company-owned cars rather than driver-owned ones, thereby, hitting their http://business.In Mumbai alone, there are over 45,000 Ola and Uber cabs but a slump in business has seen a drop of about 20 per cent in their numbers.

Meanwhile, the police has issued notices to leaders of the union under section 149 of CrPC relating to unlawful assembly.

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Here are the top 10 developments of the Ola and Uber strike:

1. Ola, Uber drivers’ strike starts at midnight: The transport wing of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has organised the indefinite strike of drivers of cab aggregators Uber and Ola starting midnight.

While taxi-hailing companies offered loan-guarantee letters to drivers through the Mudra scheme and that too without any verification, they are defaulting on repayment now as their costs are not covered, Naik claimed.

Other taxi unions, including the Mumbai Taximen's Union, have extended support.

2. Drivers claim Ola, Uber cheated them: Ola and Uber drivers said that while both the firms promised them an average monthly income between Rs 100,000 to Rs 150,000, the same was not the case. However, they initially believed them, and ended up buying cars on loans. Now that they are being underpaid, they have decided to go on a strike, said Swaraj Vahan Chalak Malak Sanghatna President Guru Katti, reported Times of India.

An average cost of a car varies between Rs 500,000 to 700,000.

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3. Fuel hike adds to Ola, Uber drivers’ woes: Katti said a hike in the fuel prices have left drivers in distress with many being unable to pay their instalmentss and for the loans they took on their cabs, added the English daily.

4. Drop in per-km fare giving nightmares: Where the per-kilometre fare once to hover around Rs 10, the same has dropped to Rs 6 now due to the stiff competition between Ola and Uber. Moreover, Ola Share offers share pass varying on the distance one intends to travel. For instance, once can buy a pass for Rs 10 valid for 30 days, where one would be required to pay just Rs 30 for distance up to four kms and Rs 200 for distance up to 20 kms. Similarly, Uber offers slashes rates on its ‘POOL’ rides and often gives 50 per cent discount to users on Uber Go, which is the cheapest Uber car ride after share.

5. Ola giving preference to cars owned by them: Allegations have also been made that Ola is giving preferences to its own cars rather than the ones owned by drivers.

Highlighting one such incident, a driver said that even if a car owned by them is closer to a rider, the company will book for the rider the car that is owned by the company, according to media reports.

As Uber reels under crises, Ola in talks with Tencent to raise $400 mn

Ola is shoring up on investments as it dabbles with the idea of using electric cars as cabs

Indian Companies News : India’s largest taxi aggregator Ola is in talks to raise $400 million in fresh funding from Chinese Internet behemoth Tencent as it looks to quickly expand its service in the country at a time when its global rival Uber is reeling under multiple crises.

Ola is shoring up on investments as it dabbles with the idea of using electric cars as cabs and is increasingly relying on its in-house leasing unit to grow the base of partners on its platform. The company has raised close to $400 million in funding since November when Softbank led a $230 million investment in the company at a $3.5 billion valuation.

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Sources told Business Standard that Ola was indeed in talks with Tencent but nothing had been finalised just yet. The Times of India and Economic Times newspapers first reported about the two parties being in talks on Thursday, citing sources that said the round would push Ola’s valuation to over $4 billion.

Globally, Tencent is part of the anti-Uber cartel through its backing of rivals such as Didi Chuxing in China, Lyft in the US, and Go-Jek in South East Asia. The company, in many cases, has invested alongside rival Alibaba and its close ally Softbank, which incidentally is the largest investor in Ola today.

At a time when Softbank is rumoured to be in talks to pick up a small but significant share in Uber, which is valued at $69 billion, it might make sense for Ola to bring in other strong investors. Ola is Softbank’s second-largest bet in India after e-commerce firm Snapdeal, which the Japanese investor is now pushing to sell to its rival Flipkart for a song.

ALSO READ: Snapdeal to seek shareholders view before giving final nod to Flipkart

Bengaluru pips Tokyo, Tel Aviv in list of innovation hubs

Bengaluru pips Tokyo, Tel Aviv in list of innovation hubs

India has emerged as a new innovation ‘empire’ of choice by global corporates. Bengaluru - the information technology and start-up hub – has surpassed many global cities as a preferred destination for innovation centres, according to Capgemini’s study on ‘Innovation Empire’.

Bengaluru that has emerged as the fifth most preferred location for housing innovation centres, overtook Tokyo, Shanghai, Berlin, Tel Aviv, Munich and Chicago, said the report titled ‘Digital Dynasties: The Rise of Innovation Empires Worldwide’. In the previous report that captured data until July 2015, Bengaluru did not figure in the list of top 10 cities.

The report said Silicon Valley was no longer the hub for corporate innovation, as global enterprises were seeking talent pools beyond established hubs.

Between July 2015 and February 2016, four global enterprises set up their innovation centres in Bengaluru, the highest in Asia. During the same period, the number of innovation centres set up in Silicon Valley and London were five and four, respectively, the report added.

Among the companies to set up their innovation centres in Bengaluru are Airbus’ BizLab and Visa, whose new technology centre aims to house 1,000 developers, accelerating development of next-generation payment solutions.

Other than global corporates opening up more innovation hubs in Bengaluru, the city also hosts several billion-dollar Indian start-ups like Flipkart, InMobi and Mu Sigma, and attracts world-class technology, talent and investments.

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