<p>Bengaluru: Bengaluru’s already strained transport system came under further pressure on Saturday as app-based cab and auto drivers participated in an all-India strike, disrupting travel across multiple parts of the city. </p><p>Commuters reported longer waiting times, frequent cancellations and sharply reduced availability of autos and cabs on popular aggregator platforms, especially during the morning peak hour, as things settled down towards the evening. </p><p>The high demand for drivers also led to a hike in prices in congested areas such as the Outer Ring Road and Sarjapur Road. Travel to the airport was also impacted. </p>.Public sector bank operations in Bengaluru hit by nationwide strike.<p>“We had to wait for more than an hour to get an auto or a cab. While there were already higher prices, we kept adding tips, but still drivers wouldn’t accept,” said Geeta K, an Iblur resident. Several residents also shared instances of drivers requesting to book trips offline rather than booking through aggregator platforms. </p><p>About 20% of the drivers in the city participated in the strike, said Raghu Narayana Gowda, founder of Peace Auto Union. “This strike had a greater impact in the north. In Bengaluru, we’re planning a bigger strike soon, where we plan shut down the entire city upto the airport,” he said. </p><p>In Karnataka, the strike was called by the Karnataka App-based Workers Union (KAWU), which has written to the Union and State transport ministers, seeking urgent regulatory intervention in the app-based transport sector. The union has demanded immediate notification of minimum base fares for aggregator services and a ban on the use of private, non-commercial vehicles for commercial transport.</p><p>“We’re not just opposing this at the state level not also the union level. In Bengaluru, the drivers are not protesting on the streets but instead refusing to log in to aggregator platforms,” said Mohammad Inayath Ali, founding president of KAWU.</p>
<p>Bengaluru: Bengaluru’s already strained transport system came under further pressure on Saturday as app-based cab and auto drivers participated in an all-India strike, disrupting travel across multiple parts of the city. </p><p>Commuters reported longer waiting times, frequent cancellations and sharply reduced availability of autos and cabs on popular aggregator platforms, especially during the morning peak hour, as things settled down towards the evening. </p><p>The high demand for drivers also led to a hike in prices in congested areas such as the Outer Ring Road and Sarjapur Road. Travel to the airport was also impacted. </p>.Public sector bank operations in Bengaluru hit by nationwide strike.<p>“We had to wait for more than an hour to get an auto or a cab. While there were already higher prices, we kept adding tips, but still drivers wouldn’t accept,” said Geeta K, an Iblur resident. Several residents also shared instances of drivers requesting to book trips offline rather than booking through aggregator platforms. </p><p>About 20% of the drivers in the city participated in the strike, said Raghu Narayana Gowda, founder of Peace Auto Union. “This strike had a greater impact in the north. In Bengaluru, we’re planning a bigger strike soon, where we plan shut down the entire city upto the airport,” he said. </p><p>In Karnataka, the strike was called by the Karnataka App-based Workers Union (KAWU), which has written to the Union and State transport ministers, seeking urgent regulatory intervention in the app-based transport sector. The union has demanded immediate notification of minimum base fares for aggregator services and a ban on the use of private, non-commercial vehicles for commercial transport.</p><p>“We’re not just opposing this at the state level not also the union level. In Bengaluru, the drivers are not protesting on the streets but instead refusing to log in to aggregator platforms,” said Mohammad Inayath Ali, founding president of KAWU.</p>