The strike has received complete support across the city and approximately 55,000 taxis and 1.5 lakh rickshaws stayed off the roads on Thursday, union leader Sharad Rao told PTI. The union said the phasing out of the existing taxis, a majority of which are of the Premier Padmini make, was wrong since the emission norms prescribed were being met by the vehicles.
A major gas pipeline damage has disrupted CNG supply in Mumbai, leading to long queues at refuelling stations and affecting autorickshaws, taxis, and other CNG-run vehicles. The disruption is expected to impact transport availability throughout the day.
The day-long statewide strike called by the Mumbai Autorickshaw-Taximen's Union, the largest auto union in the city, began from midnight demanding ouster of call centre-operated Uber and Ola cabs besides revocation of Maharashtra government's decision to scrap the Hakim panel on auto and taxi fares.