“I’ve always been passionate about driving. I loved to travel long distances during my childhood, and after my graduation, I finally bought a car. I took up driving as a full-time profession. I had to take a loan on my father’s farmland to buy this car, but it was worth it. It’s been over two years since I started working as a cab driver for Ola and Uber.

Once I got my own car, my income increased steadily to the point where I was earning Rs. 40,000 per month. Everything was going great until March when the lockdown was announced. I started to find myself struggling to make ends meet. I am the sole breadwinner of my family and have three people to provide for at home.

I drive a seven-seater car and because of Covid-19 protocols, police are not allowing more than three passengers in one car. It has been a huge blow to SUV drivers such as myself. The majority of my customers were usually software employees, who are mostly working from home now.

I’m doing business of less than Rs.1000 a day now, out of which 20 percent goes to the company, and the rest towards petrol costs. At the end of the day, there’s no money left. The only option I had left was to start selling fruits; there was no other way to ensure my family’s well being.

I don’t know when things will go back to normal, but until then I will continue to sell fruits for a living. Considering the current situation, my only request to cab companies is to reduce the commission rate to 10 percent, so we all have a chance at surviving this pandemic.”

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