Rickshaw drivers in Lahore protest against ride-hailing services, Orange Cab scheme

Rickshaw drivers in Lahore took to the streets on Thursday to protest against ride-hailing services Uber and Careem and the Punjab government's Orange Cab initiative to provide 100,000 cars to those unemployed in the province, a press release issued by the Awami Rickshaw Union stated.

The rickshaw drivers blocked Ferozepur Road for at least three hours, which resulted in a massive traffic jam.

Speaking to Dawn.com, Awami Rickshaw Union Chairman Majeed Ghauri expressed "severe" displeasure at the online ride-hailing services operating in Lahore, claiming they have a "free pass" and are not being regulated.

Ghauri further accused Umer Saif, chairman of the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), of "backing" the ride-hailing services for personal gains, claiming he has "misguided" the chief minister of the province.

"Managing public transport is the job of the Punjab Transport Department, so why is the IT board interfering in this matter?" Ghauri added.

Regarding the Orange Cab scheme, he said, "Why doesn't the chief minister of Punjab give us the 100,000 taxis and take our rickshaws as surety?", adding that the rickshaw drivers would comply happily if that was done.

The union leader warned that protests will continue until the demands of the rickshaw drivers union are met.

Subsequently, if the situation persists, the union will demonstrate in front of the office of Punjab transport secretary on May 9 and on May 18 they will gather in front of the Punjab Governor House and continue protesting until their demands are met.

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Ahsan Gul

Apr 27, 2017 11:09pm

Competition is a healthy for any trade. Rickshaw drivers will recover also. Public needs comparative fast and reliable transportation.

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Apr 27, 2017 11:42pm

The era of rikshaws and yellow top taxis is over. Love careem.com

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Miqbal rangoonwLa

Apr 28, 2017 12:01am

The taxi and rickshaw never took passenger by meter bUT by rheir greed will the Punjab chief minister shall issue 200000 orange taxi in karachi so nawaz will come to power 2018 election

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Khalid javaid

Apr 28, 2017 01:51am

Rickshaw drivers have formed a mafia. They are writing their demands on the back of their rickshaws and one of them is to stop traffic police issuing challans to them. Which means they are free to do whatever they like. Rickshaw drivers do not at all follow traffic rules. Fare is not metered so it is at the drivers discretion to ask for the money. Starting respectable transport service by the govt is a very good move. Rickshaws should be minimized as it is costly and dangerous.

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Alba

Apr 28, 2017 02:26am

Shahbaz Sharif will get a percentage of Orange Cab. That is the way politics works. For putting this together politically he becomes a minor partner without needing to invest any money.

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Sohail

Apr 28, 2017 04:46am

The rickshaw drivers should be given the cars

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Asif A Shah

Apr 28, 2017 05:00am

I feel sorry for the rickshaw drivers but the government has to deal with the problem of youth unemployment as well. Change is unavoidable. It is the cruel law of the market which controls. However, the process of change should be done in phases to accommodate the concerns of the rickshaw drivers.

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Mohsin

Apr 28, 2017 08:33am

The rickshaw drivers should sign up with Uber & Careem. Change is here and rickshaws should adapt as well.

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Ali Vazir

Apr 28, 2017 02:02pm

To a great extent true, but Rickshaws are a real nuisance. They deliberately remove muffler of silencer to get better mileage, causing unacceptable noise pollution, they use sub-standard motor oil, thereby emitting unacceptable smoke. They don't have shock-absorbers at the back wheels, thereby making the journey painful. They have removed meters to charge whatever they like. Instead of protesting to have a standard tariff from govt, they use all above unhealthy tactics. Do they deserve a better response?

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