Recession hits cab services in IT and BPO hubs
As the economy slows down and companies battle to lower costs, in the IT and BPO hub of Pune, the axe has fallen on cab services.
Companies have cut down on the number of taxis used to drop employees home, encouraging employees to use public transport, while making exceptions only for female employees.
Ramdas Pakhare is uncertain about his future. This cab driver in a private agency has seen several colleagues losing their jobs in the last 3 months.
Earlier he was on call 24 hours; now he hardly gets full trips during daytime.
"Drivers are losing their jobs because of less running. If owners cannot afford this how do you expect them to keep all drivers," he says.
The list of the victims of recession is increasing.
Following stringent cost cuts by BPOs and IT firms cabs that dropped employees home have been cut in numbers by 5 to 40 per cent.
Just 3 months ago there were over 7,000 cabs on Pune roads for BPO staff. And today it is down to nearly half.
Most companies are replacing cabs with buses to save costs.
A cab costs companies Rs 30,000-40,000 a month, while a bus costs Rs 1-1.1 lakh a month. So, when five buses replace 60 cabs, a company save around Rs 18.5 lakh a month.
But that’s not all. Even the ones who have jobs
are facing salary cuts.
Nana Kshirsagar, President, Maharashtra Cab Owners and Drivers Association says, "Because vendors are not getting business, they are axing our drivers. Many of them are on wages so there is no security for them."
While employees have been requested to use their own vehicles or public transport, only women are being given priority and only for late shifts.
Souce: http://www.ndtv.com/
