- India’s leading carmaker, Maruti Suzuki halted it’s Manesar plant due to corona issues.
- The Indian government has taken the necessary steps to slow down the spreading of the virus by asking to maintain social distancing and going out asked people of India to go out only if necessary.
Demands of cab-hailing services were already plummeting due to fears of COVID-19 which signaled towards bad times for transporters in India. Soon after the entire nation went for shutdown, entire transport shuts down in India as well.
Services of Ola and Uber will not be available in Delhi till 31st March. While the city will be in lockdown situation from 23rd – 31st March, public transport as well as private busses, taxis, and autorickshaws will also be halted.
Ola and Uber account for a large share of the taxis running in the national capital and both have already suspended their services for some time. Centre and state governments have decided to completely lock down 80 districts across the country where fears of coronavirus are lingering.
From shopping malls, movie complexes and pubs, all have been temporarily closed down. Employees have been asked to work from home which clearly signals that as of now India doesn’t require much of commutation which is why entire transport shuts down in India.
“Uber is complying with all Central and State government directives related to its services for containing the spread of COVID-19.” – Uber spokesperson commented.
Districts where complete lockdown procedure is going on include – Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala. New Delhi will be locked down from 6 am on 23rd March an continue till midnight on 31st March.
Essential services like pharmacy, clinics, hospitals, food, water, and power supply will be running although. Only 25% of the DTC busses will be running to help people commute belonging to these above businesses.
Entire Transport Shuts Down or We Have Some Alternative to Commute as Well?
Even if India doesn’t witness the overall shutting down of transport, let’s just assume that for an undisclosed time, we have no option to book cabs or take public transport.
Some of the DTC busses are still running because there is still some movement on the ground. Nobody can put an end to essential services during such crucial times.
But yes, the amount busses rolling on the road a month before and the amount of them running now has a major difference.
While all this is going on, authorities are hoping that people of India should stay in their home and avoid being a carrier of this fast-spreading disease.
Some domestic and international flights remain operational in Delhi but there is hardly any footfall in the airport. Transport is a necessary part of life which cannot be entirely shut down, but if we see something like this, it clearly means that the situation in India is pretty serious and we shouldn’t take things lightly.
Summing Up:
While some flights and DTC busses are still taking responsibility to move people from one place to another, but nobody thought private giants like Ola and Uber could be shut down!
While transport shuts down in India, let’s just hope it is shut down which contributes towards slowing down of this pandemic time!
People still have their cars and bike for the purpose of commutation, but hardly anyone is seen rolling down on the roads like old times.
Almost every sector, every big and small service provider is being affected by this fast-spreading disease!
