Bhubaneswar: As different states across the country enforce lockdowns to contain novel coronavirus, private taxi and cab owners here have reported an unprecedented drop in their business with no riders amidst mass cancellation of flights and trains.
Owing to lack of a robust public transport, private taxis and app-based cab services such as Ola and Uber were seeing heavy demand during peak rush hours in the capital city here. However, as state government issued closure of schools, colleges, shopping malls and offices, lack of passengers has adversely affected their business.
“I have brought my car on loan with an EMI of Rs 16,000 per month. It’s been a year I have been using my car for Ola rides. I used to make monthly Rs 40,000 including the fuel and maintenance charges. However, bookings have become very less ever since corona positive cases were found in Odisha. If the lockdown continues for long, I’m afraid I will fail to pay this month’s EMI,” said Manoranjan Behera who managed to get only 11 bookings in past five days.
With the virus fast spreading, several states have sealed their borders. The East Coast Railway (ECoR) has recently announced cancellations of 10 trains and mentioned that it had recorded a 67 per cent increase in cancellations during this period as compared to last year.
With larger number of domestic and foreign tourists arriving at Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) here, the destination fetched top earnings to cab and taxi drivers. However, with spread of COVID-19, a drop of 48.39 per cent in passengers was observed during February. Resultantly, long lines of cabs and taxis were observed at the BPIA.
“After a booking we can only accommodate one passenger and there is high chance we won’t get a passenger during a return trip and thus we charge double. However, people should understand that these are troubled times and we are just doing our bit. Yes, the business isn’t going good but a small sacrifice is nothing for a larger good,” said Manoj Das, a local taxi owner.
Although the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation has initiated the odd-even scheme for public transport, it doesn’t go well with more than 30,000 taxi operators and about 4,000 Ola and Uber drivers.
Aviral Mishra, OP
