Woes of ride-sharing service providers yet to end

The ride-sharing service providers, particularly drivers, are still grappling with the adverse impact of the unrest that emerged out of the students' job-quota movement but was continuing in different dimensions and intensity until Wednesday.
Their income came down to near zero as the unrest reached its peak in the days just before the students' final one-point demand was realized on August 5 with the resignation of Sheikh Hasina as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh.
Even after the major political development, the struggle for the service providers hardly eased as the aftermath took different dimensions, scaring people and holding them back home to avert the ongoing attacks and vandalism for the last couple of days.
As a result, the drivers of ride-sharing services - be it motorbike or car - who could not work for almost two weeks because of the internet shutdown and curfew are still struggling to earn money at a level they usually do.
Although public and private offices have opened, the people are still afraid to go out due to the ongoing unrest. A large number of people now depend on ride-sharing platforms to earn their living.
Popular ride-sharing Uber has over 300,000 drivers in Bangladesh, according to an annual report published by the platform in 2023. It has more than 6.0 million passengers in Bangladesh.
Another popular platform Pathao has around 200,000 drivers, including around 150,000 bike drivers across the country.
Ride-sharing platforms also have other services like food delivery and courier.
These services are operated through mobile apps. As a result, their income has been impacted severely due to the shutdowns.
The mobile internet was stopped on the night of July 17 and the broadband internet was stopped on the night of July 18 amid the students' movement.
Five days later on July 23, the broadband internet connectivity was restored at a limited scale. After 10 days on July 28, the mobile internet was also restored, but was not uninterrupted. Facebook and other social media remained closed until July 31.
Md Jamal, a Pathao bike driver in the capital, said he could not pay last month's house rent. This month's rent also remains outstanding.
"I drive 8-9 hours a day to make an income of around Tk 1,000 daily," he said, adding that his four-member family depend on the earnings.
Though the situation is improving, people are still afraid of leaving their homes, he said. "As a result, I am not getting the desired number of passengers."
Mokarram Hossain, an Uber car driver, said: "I still can't go to work properly. As I go out, a sense of fear grips me that my car would be vandalised," he said.
When asked, Mokarram said, he incurred a loss ranging between Tk 20,000 and Tk 30,000 in the last few weeks.
Pathao co-founder Hussain Elius said their business has been affected greatly due to the unrest and internet shutdowns.
The vehicular movement is still not uninterrupted. "We hope it will return to normal soon," he added.

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