April 8, 2024: We, drivers working with Uber, Ola and Rapido apps are unable to turn on the AC in our cabs due to declining per kilometre fares. With temperatures in Hyderabad soaring up to 43 degree Celsius, turning on the AC means that the costs for fuel and maintenance rise. The cost of running our cabs with AC is rupees 16-18 per kilometre. After accounting for commissions charged by Uber, Ola and Rapido, we are able to earn only rupees 10-12 per kilometre.

With deep regret, we inform all customers who are hailing our services of our inability to offer high- quality rides. With the AC on and the current fare structure, we are simply unable to meet the costs of running our cabs. Hence, we are launching the No AC Campaign starting this week.

Today, bike taxis and autos today are receiving higher fares than cabs. We ask: How is the algorithm calculating these fares? How is the algorithm unable to take into account the actual costs of running cabs on the streets in this heat? How can the cost of running a cab be lower than the cost of running bike taxis and autos—both of which do not have ACs?

We request cooperation from all our customers on this matter. If they require the AC to be switched on during rides, we request them to kindly offer us a tip to help us adequately meet the costs.

Through this campaign, we hope that we are able to reach out to the government and platform companies to pay timely attention to the daily issues faced by drivers of all app-based taxis. We request the Telangana State Government to urgently implement uniform fares per kilometre for all taxis attached to platform companies. We further urge the Telangana State government to ensure that the platform companies comply with government-directed regulations.

Inconvenience to our customers and to ourselves as drivers is not our intention, however, as our requests to the Telangana State Government and to platform companies are repeatedly going unheard, we are left with little choice but to launch this No AC Campaign. If our demands are not urgently addressed, TGPWU, in collaboration with trade unions in other states, will be forced to launch a nationwide campaign for the same.

See more details here.