Joint protest committee of conventional taxi and autorickshaw drivers calls strike on ThursdayAfter a brief lull, fresh tension has erupted between online taxi operators and conventional taxi and autorickshaw drivers in the city and suburbs. “Licence should be made mandatory for online taxi drivers, and the government should enact legislation to regulate them, following on the footsteps of Karnataka and Maharashtra governments,” T.B. She added that unregulated operations by online taxi behemoths like Ola and Uber had taken a toll on the livelihood of conventional taxi and autorickshaw operators. However, All Kerala Online Taxi Drivers Union rejected the allegation that they were unlicensed, claiming that online taxi services operated with the Central government’s permission and licence. “The State government should appoint a commission to recommend solutions to the persisting issues between conventional and online taxi operators.

Source: The Hindu September 06, 2016 21:33 UTC