Cabbies driving into the ground….Somit Sen
Living Hand-To-Mouth, With No Retirement Benefits: Survey
Living Hand-To-Mouth, With No Retirement Benefits: Survey
The next time you feel your blood boiling over cabbies fleecing you, just cool down. Theirs is a pitiable lot.
Not for nothing have taxi drivers threatened to go on strike this week over steep third-party insurance premiums. According to a recent survey, they do not earn much and are unable to meet the high cost of living in Mumbai. At their current levels of income and taking into account the debt burden, most taxi drivers in Mumbai find it hard to satisfy their basic needs, concludes the study, conducted by seven students under the guidance of Neeraj Hatekar of Mumbai Universitys economics department.
The study has found that the average monthly income of a person driving a taxi on rent (70% of the citys taxi drivers) is Rs 8,100 and of drivers who own their taxis is Rs 10,530. It says: The annual rate of increase in income for cabbies is not higher than the prevalent inflation rate. Low income limits their consumption choices and they are trapped in a situation where there is almost no chance of an improvement in their standard of living. Moreover, long-term savings from their measly income is not possible at all.
Hatekar said that his team observed that the income of drivers decreased as they advanced in age. Most of them did not want to retire as their savings were too low. An example is a 75-year-old respondent who said he planned to continue driving for another five or 10 years.
Among factors that impact earnings are taxi model and area of operation. In the case of a new model, a driver earns Rs 18 more per day. The reason could be that the new models are more fuel efficient and need less maintenance, says the report. While old models account for 63% of taxis in south Mumbai, their percentage is less in the suburbs.
As for area of operation, a driver in south Mumbai earns Rs 53 less per day as compared to one driving to and from the airport.