App-hailing cab companies are enjoying unprecedented ever-growing profits in Pakistan. Now the app cab service is available almost countrywide. These app cab services are successfully entertaining all the social classes from elite to lower-middle class through the provision of diversity in available vehicles and fares.
It’s brought a great change in the life of people since they don’t have to wait for taxis or bargain the fare. Now the taxi drivers aren’t able to take advantage of the customers by charging extra even for dropping 100 meters away from the agreed destination.
The decision of introducing 800 CC vehicles is also commendable. As the intentions behind the decision, seem to accommodate the lower-middle class by providing an earning opportunity as well as a low fare cab for the low-income customers. But will it not kill all taxi drivers who have no means to buy a new car? They lead a miserable life in which satiating the hunger of the loved ones is of prime value. The catastrophic dilemma of their lives is that they are left with no choice due to lack of resources and negligence of policymakers. Majority of these taxi drivers use Suzuki FX which costs around 1-lac rupees approximately.
Will you go for a bumpy ride on a noisy and uncomfortable old-fashioned vehicle or opt for an 800 CC low fare taxi provided by a cab-hailing app service?
Cab-hailing app service, as it is way cheaper and luxurious than an FX. The answer describes it all. But the other side of the picture is rather too gloomy. These old-fashioned, uneducated, poor and often-misbehaved taxi drivers have not done anything else in life. What they only know is driving. Lack of resources bars them from buying new cars and joining E-hailing cab services and lack of skills deprive them off from the rest of available job opportunities. And their whole family is dependent on their earning.
The society must modernize but not by trampling over people. It should retool them as it was done to human rickshaw in Bahawalpur in early-1990s. The government introduced Yellow Cab scheme to save people from getting unemployed when a ban was imposed on a human rickshaw.
Captains play a pivotal role in E-hailing cab-services’ success. The drivers are called captains notwithstanding whether they’re owners of the vehicle or employed as drivers. These drivers are paid from PKR 16,000 to PKR 18,000 per month by the vehicle owners. Compared to the time and hard work, this salary is not more than mocking the socioeconomic conditions of poverty-stricken people. But that’s not all; these services have put the lives of many on the stake. They have multiple shortcomings as well as negative impacts on the socioeconomic order of the country.
Most of the independent taxi drivers are compelled to work with app cab-services since they don’t get any customers on their own. Introduction of 800 CC service not only saved the face of app hailing cab services but also managed to bar the taxi drivers from protesting at least morally at large. It successfully raised their value by providing a service to lower-middle class with extremely low fares and least minimum charges.
Unfortunately, the practice of exploiting and neglecting the needs and rights of the poor taxi drivers is evident in the fares set by app cab service. The fares of these 800 CC service can’t fulfill the needs of poor drivers as well as fatal for the self-employed taxi drivers. The minimum fare PKR 75 is followed by PKR 8 per km isn’t even enough to fill the stomach of driver’s family. On the other hand, Self-employed FX taxi drivers are under extraordinary pressure as neither do they have any rides nor they comply with the vehicle requirements of the company.
The E hailing cab services’ share in every ride is at least 20 % of the total Fare. The taxi drivers/owners enthusiastically join the service and quit very soon as instead of being a profitable business it brings huge losses to them. Eventually, they try their luck by standing beside the road at random places yet again but all in vain. People prefer the app cab services which leaves them empty-pocketed.
Hyperinflation, a key economic factor, is altogether overlooked by the app cab services. The above-given fare is of a time when Petrol’s price is almost PKR 85 per liter. Low fare means less income as a result poor will get poorer. It’s not only low fare that hurts the coupons, credits and rest of the waivers frequently offered to the customers often deprive the captain from the total estimated Fare.
E-hailing cab companies should waive off its share of taxi drivers. These low-income people deserve more since they are already under a tremendous burden.
Untrained and inexperienced captains are a big issue since people like tailors, mechanics, plumbers etc. join these app cab-hailing services in pursuit of money. They quit the fields of their expertise and start driving cabs without realizing the consequences. This all is mainly due to the adverts enticing them to earn handsome amounts. But they don’t understand that it demands working for 14 to 15 hours every day without getting a single day off. On the contrary, they live a balanced life while working in the field of their expertise.
Impact of long working hours
Provision of health insurance to captains isn’t sufficed in presence of tiresome and long hours of driving to complete the desired number of trips every day. The lifelong negative impacts of driving for 14 hours or more every day on health are both unimaginable and unrecoverable. According to Professor J M Harrington Institute of Occupational Health, University of Birmingham, “The main physiological consequence of such shift schedules is disruption of circadian rhythm which can have a deleterious effect on performance, sleep patterns, accident rates, mental health, and cardiovascular mortality. Reproductive outcome effects may be linked to disruption of menstrual cycles. Individual issues such as sex, age, and personality are also important.”
It leaves them with less time to eat a healthy meal and take care of themselves. Many countries have implemented maximum 48 hours work per week. It’s irrelevant here as no importance is given to the poor even by the government.
These modern app-hailing cab companies rendering services to the people must try to bring balance in the life of captains. A balance between paid time and unpaid time: give more time to living and a better chance to live well. It’s loving, caring and reflecting that deserve more time.
The government mustn’t condone its obligations for it only exists for the betterment of the society. Programs for training and schemes like Yellow cab should be introduced in order to entertain the poor taxi drivers. But these upgradation schemes must be on easy conditions for the poor can neither pay nor bring guarantees to avail the chances alike. A joint venture between private companies and government to upgrade the poor taxi drivers’ vehicles could also help the suppressed and neglected segment of society.
Introduction of a proper service structure for the taxi drivers is necessary. If the government doesn’t focus on its provision, the private companies should step ahead. These private enterprises have ample capacity of bringing the longed change in the lives of the poor taxi drivers. No private company can excel without hard-working, trained and secure employees. Private businesses should devise proper salary structures, work timings, old-age benefits for the permanent and true success.
