On Demand Economy - Opportunities to the Aspiring
I have been a regular user of Ola Cabs and their ilk ever since I have relocated to Mumbai. I make it a point to speak with the drivers as we drive along getting to understand why they have signed up with Ola or what’s it to be an independent agent. Till a few weeks ago the cab drivers that came along were invariably professional drivers – cab drivers or drivers with other people who moved along to Ola because it represented better income and in some cases more independence than being a driver with someone. (stated a family driver who resented having to run errands for the malikin. “I was their driver not their errand boy. They asked me to collect laundry, buy vegetables etc.”). In the recent weeks though I have encountered a completely different phenomenon. First time drivers now taking to driving cabs. They had been driving their new Ola cabs for less than a week or two days in one case when i ran into them.. These are people in other professions who knew driving who have taken...