Commuters bear the brunt of Pune auto-rickshaw strike

Auto-rickshaw services all over the city were affected on Monday, as the operators called a day-long strike, to protest against the government’s decision permitting private cab-service providers and app-based auto-rickshaw services to ply within the city.

The auto-rickshaw union, Rickshaw Panchayat, has sent a list of demands to the Regional Transport Office (RTO) and have threatened to go on strike again if there demands are not met at the earliest.

Head of Rickshaw Panchayat, Baba Adhav speaking to iamin said, "We want the RTO to cancel permits for radio-taxis and e-rickshaws which were initially meant for out-of-city travel. These taxis now offer rides within the city at Rs 8 to 10 for a km, which severely affects our business.” The auto-rickshaw owners also held a demonstration outside the Council Hall in the morning to emphasise on their demands.

With most auto-rickshaws refusing to ply, commuters faced transportation issues in various places across the city. "I wanted to travel from Pune station to Swargate. I did not know about the strike and was stranded with my luggage for almost 45 minutes till I booked a call-taxi,” said 25-year-old IT professional Priyanka Jain.

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