A shocking incident has come to light in India's southern city of Bengaluru where a bike taxi&nbsp;driver masturbated and sexually harassed a woman passenger. The woman, named Athira, took to Twitter to share her ordeal where she revealed how the&nbsp;driver chased her, even after the ride was completed.&nbsp;

The woman said she had gone to take part in a protest at Town Hall where people had gathered to show solidarity with the survivors of violence in Manipur. To return home, she booked a bike taxi on the Rapido app. However, the driver arrived on a bike&nbsp;different to the one registered and shown in the app.&nbsp;

"Surprisingly, the driver arrived on a different bike, explaining that the one registered with @rapidobikeapp was under servicing. I confirmed my booking through his app and proceeded with the ride."

Midway through the journey, the driver started riding the vehicle with one hand while masturbating with the other. The woman said she did not protest, fearing for her safety as they were in a remote area with no other vehicles around.&nbsp;

“During the journey, we reached a remote area with no other vehicles around. Shockingly, the driver began riding with one hand and engaging in inappropriate behavior (Masturbating while riding the bike). Fearing for my safety, I remained silent throughout the ordeal,” she wrote.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/manipur-horror-five-arrests-in-three-days-after-anger-grows-over-sexual-assault-video-india-618440">Watch |&nbsp;Manipur Horror: Five arrests in three days after anger grows over sexual assault video | India</a>

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To avoid being chased by the driver, she asked him to drop her 200 metres before the actual destination. However, what should have been the end of the ordeal only escalated further as the driver started calling and texting her on WhatsApp.&nbsp;

In one of the screenshots shared, the driver could be seen professing his one-sided love, despite the obvious reluctance from the woman. After Athira's tweet went viral, the official handle of Bengaluru police responded to the allegations and asked for the user’s contact details.

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Thread 🧵<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SexualHarassement?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#SexualHarassement</a> 
Today, I went for the Manipur Violence protest at Town Hall Bangalore and booked a <a href="https://twitter.com/rapidobikeapp?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@rapidobikeapp</a> auto for my way back home. However, multiple auto cancellations led me to opt for a bike instead. <a href="https://t.co/bQkw4i7NvO">pic.twitter.com/bQkw4i7NvO</a>
— Athira Purushothaman (@Aadhi_02) <a href="https://twitter.com/Aadhi_02/status/1682405662511472642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 21, 2023</a></blockquote>
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<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-shocking-bengaluru-woman-jumps-off-moving-rapido-bike-after-driver-gropes-her-video-surfaces-586353">Also read |&nbsp;India: Shocking! Bengaluru woman jumps off moving Rapido bike after driver gropes her; video surfaces</a>

<h2>Police arrest the driver</h2>

In a tweet, the city police wrote, “We have informed to@sjparkps to take necessary action in this regard, Please DM your contact number.”

Athira informed on Saturday (July 22)&nbsp;that she had filed a complaint with the police and the driver had been arrested. She added that it was not an isolated incident with Rapido.&nbsp;

"This is not an isolated incident with @rapidobikeapp , and I'm determined to pursue legal action against the driver and demand an investigation into Rapidos' safety measures," she said.

Earlier this year, a 30-year-old woman jumped off a moving Rapido after the driver attempted to grope her.&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

WATCH WION LIVE HERE:&nbsp;

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A shocking incident has come to light in India's southern city of Bengaluru where a bike taxi driver masturbated and sexually harassed a woman passenger. The woman, named Athira, took to Twitter to share her ordeal where she revealed how the driver chased her, even after the ride was completed.

A shocking incident has come to light in India's southern city of Bengaluru where a bike taxi driver masturbated and sexually harassed a woman passenger. The woman, named Athira, took to Twitter to share her ordeal where she revealed how the driver chased her, even after the ride was completed. The woman said she had gone to take part in a protest at Town Hall where people had gathered to show solidarity with the survivors of violence in Manipur. To return home, she booked a bike taxi on the Rapido app. However, the driver arrived on a bike different to the one registered and shown in the app. "Surprisingly, the driver arrived on a different bike, explaining that the one registered with @rapidobikeapp was under servicing. I confirmed my booking through his app and proceeded with the ride." Midway through the journey, the driver started riding the vehicle with one hand while masturbating with the other. The woman said she did not protest, fearing for her safety as they were in a remote area with no other vehicles around. “During the journey, we reached a remote area with no other vehicles around. Shockingly, the driver began riding with one hand and engaging in inappropriate behavior (Masturbating while riding the bike). Fearing for my safety, I remained silent throughout the ordeal,” she wrote. Watch | Manipur Horror: Five arrests in three days after anger grows over sexual assault video | India × To avoid being chased by the driver, she asked him to drop her 200 metres before the actual destination. However, what should have been the end of the ordeal only escalated further as the driver started calling and texting her on WhatsApp. In one of the screenshots shared, the driver could be seen professing his one-sided love, despite the obvious reluctance from the woman. After Athira's tweet went viral, the official handle of Bengaluru police responded to the allegations and asked for the user’s contact details. Thread 🧵#SexualHarassement Today, I went for the Manipur Violence protest at Town Hall Bangalore and booked a @rapidobikeapp auto for my way back home. However, multiple auto cancellations led me to opt for a bike instead. pic.twitter.com/bQkw4i7NvO — Athira Purushothaman (@Aadhi_02) July 21, 2023 × Also read | India: Shocking! Bengaluru woman jumps off moving Rapido bike after driver gropes her; video surfaces Police arrest the driver In a tweet, the city police wrote, “We have informed to@sjparkps to take necessary action in this regard, Please DM your contact number.” Athira informed on Saturday (July 22) that she had filed a complaint with the police and the driver had been arrested. She added that it was not an isolated incident with Rapido. "This is not an isolated incident with @rapidobikeapp , and I'm determined to pursue legal action against the driver and demand an investigation into Rapidos' safety measures," she said. Earlier this year, a 30-year-old woman jumped off a moving Rapido after the driver attempted to grope her. (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE:

India: Bike taxi driver masturbates mid-ride, sexually harasses woman over texts

New York City has an opportunity to solve a debt crisis that has devastated a central institution in the lives of many New Yorkers: yellow cabs and their owner-drivers. The solution would come at a relatively modest cost and would help redress an injustice from which the city benefited financially: a creditor-driven bubble in the price of medallions — the permits that allow people to operate cabs — that led many drivers into debt bondage and even prompted some to commit suicide.

The city should take action. It should adopt a plan put forward last year by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance in which the drivers’ debt would be restructured and the city would serve as the guarantor of the medallions’ value.

There are about 12,000 taxi medallions in use in New York, sold originally by the city but now traded mostly among taxi drivers and owners of taxi fleets. Medallion brokers often arrange for sales and their financing. As investigative reporting has shown, for about a decade a creditor-driven cycle of easy credit rapidly increased the price of a medallion, which reached almost $1 million in 2014, the peak year.

Cabdrivers, typically immigrants, took out loans to pay for the medallions, and to obtain the loans they often had to offer as collateral everything that they and their next of kin owned. When in 2019 the bubble burst and the value of a medallion dropped to about $100,000, cabdrivers were plunged into financial ruin.

Identifying a debt bubble in real time is not always easy. But with the market for taxi medallions, creditors, brokers and the city were in a position to see what was going on — and yet they allowed the frenzy to continue and often made large sums of money from it.

The plan put forward by the Taxi Workers Alliance was devised after consultation with cabdrivers, some of the creditors and some city officials. (Two of the alliance’s lawyers are former students of mine.) Under the plan, New York City would become the guarantor of the medallions’ value. If the cabdrivers default on the loan, the city, not the personal assets of drivers and their families, would guarantee the value.

For creditors this would be a boon as well, because a guarantee from New York is a more reliable security than are personal assets. In return, the creditors would agree to restructure the loans to reflect the actual market value of the medallions, not their inflated “bubble” value.

The cost to the city would be $93 million over 30 years, based on estimated default rates and the prevailing market value of the medallions published by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. This is a relatively small price, especially considering that from 2004 to 2017, the city made more than $850 million from auctioning new medallions.

The alliance’s plan is superior to a plan being considered by the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which would offer each driver a one-time grant of $20,000 to pay off creditors. That would be good news for the creditors, but it would leave the cabdrivers to renegotiate the rest of their debt on their own.

Some will object that the city should not get involved in a private contractual relationship between a debtor and a creditor. But the city is already involved: It created the asset at the center of the deals — the medallion. In addition, as the city made money from the inflated price of medallions, it allowed the bubble to run its course, ignoring lessons from the similar bubble in the housing market a few years earlier. By adopting the alliance plan, the city would help right a wrong that, at least indirectly, it helped create.

Another objection to the plan is that the drivers are to blame for their fate — after all, they chose to sign the loan contracts — and that government intervention will just make things worse because people will come to expect bailouts in the future and behave recklessly as a result. But lender-borrower relationships are never entered into equally: Whoever has the money can set the terms — whether to lend at all, for what purposes and on what conditions. Unfortunately, the law ignores this power imbalance. Contracting parties are treated as equal with each party fully responsible for upholding its side of the bargain.

Even if the creditors who provided the loans to buy the medallions played by the formal rules of the game — a big “if,” in many cases — they still took their debtors for a ride. Their lending practices shifted most of the risk of the deal to the debtors, who were least able to carry it.

Though it did not directly subsidize creditors, New York City allowed them to enrich themselves by exploiting the weaknesses of others — while itself profiting handsomely. By adopting the plan put forward by the cabdrivers’ alliance, the city would mitigate a harm it helped inflict on a group of people who have always helped fuel the fortunes of this city.

New York City has an opportunity to solve a debt crisis that has devastated a central institution in the lives of many New Yorkers: yellow cabs and their owner-drivers.

New York City has an opportunity to solve a debt crisis that has devastated a central institution in the lives of many New Yorkers: yellow cabs and their owner-drivers. The solution would come at a relatively modest cost and would help redress an injustice from which the city benefited financially: a creditor-driven bubble in the price of medallions — the permits that allow people to operate cabs — that led many drivers into debt bondage and even prompted some to commit suicide. The city should take action. It should adopt a plan put forward last year by the New York Taxi Workers Alliance in which the drivers’ debt would be restructured and the city would serve as the guarantor of the medallions’ value. There are about 12,000 taxi medallions in use in New York, sold originally by the city but now traded mostly among taxi drivers and owners of taxi fleets. Medallion brokers often arrange for sales and their financing. As investigative reporting has shown, for about a decade a creditor-driven cycle of easy credit rapidly increased the price of a medallion, which reached almost $1 million in 2014, the peak year. Cabdrivers, typically immigrants, took out loans to pay for the medallions, and to obtain the loans they often had to offer as collateral everything that they and their next of kin owned. When in 2019 the bubble burst and the value of a medallion dropped to about $100,000, cabdrivers were plunged into financial ruin. Identifying a debt bubble in real time is not always easy. But with the market for taxi medallions, creditors, brokers and the city were in a position to see what was going on — and yet they allowed the frenzy to continue and often made large sums of money from it. The plan put forward by the Taxi Workers Alliance was devised after consultation with cabdrivers, some of the creditors and some city officials. (Two of the alliance’s lawyers are former students of mine.) Under the plan, New York City would become the guarantor of the medallions’ value. If the cabdrivers default on the loan, the city, not the personal assets of drivers and their families, would guarantee the value. For creditors this would be a boon as well, because a guarantee from New York is a more reliable security than are personal assets. In return, the creditors would agree to restructure the loans to reflect the actual market value of the medallions, not their inflated “bubble” value. The cost to the city would be $93 million over 30 years, based on estimated default rates and the prevailing market value of the medallions published by the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission. This is a relatively small price, especially considering that from 2004 to 2017, the city made more than $850 million from auctioning new medallions. The alliance’s plan is superior to a plan being considered by the Taxi and Limousine Commission, which would offer each driver a one-time grant of $20,000 to pay off creditors. That would be good news for the creditors, but it would leave the cabdrivers to renegotiate the rest of their debt on their own. Some will object that the city should not get involved in a private contractual relationship between a debtor and a creditor. But the city is already involved: It created the asset at the center of the deals — the medallion. In addition, as the city made money from the inflated price of medallions, it allowed the bubble to run its course, ignoring lessons from the similar bubble in the housing market a few years earlier. By adopting the alliance plan, the city would help right a wrong that, at least indirectly, it helped create. Another objection to the plan is that the drivers are to blame for their fate — after all, they chose to sign the loan contracts — and that government intervention will just make things worse because people will come to expect bailouts in the future and behave recklessly as a result. But lender-borrower relationships are never entered into equally: Whoever has the money can set the terms — whether to lend at all, for what purposes and on what conditions. Unfortunately, the law ignores this power imbalance. Contracting parties are treated as equal with each party fully responsible for upholding its side of the bargain. Even if the creditors who provided the loans to buy the medallions played by the formal rules of the game — a big “if,” in many cases — they still took their debtors for a ride. Their lending practices shifted most of the risk of the deal to the debtors, who were least able to carry it. Though it did not directly subsidize creditors, New York City allowed them to enrich themselves by exploiting the weaknesses of others — while itself profiting handsomely. By adopting the plan put forward by the cabdrivers’ alliance, the city would mitigate a harm it helped inflict on a group of people who have always helped fuel the fortunes of this city.

How to save New York City’s cabdrivers

For years, a generation of New York City taxi drivers who wanted to own their cabs were channeled into exploitative loans that left them deeply in debt, or even bankrupt. The city, which reaped hundreds of millions of dollars from the practice, ignored their plight.

On Tuesday, for the first time, the city announced a concrete plan to aid the drivers, who have been battered even more by the pandemic.

Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to spend $65 million of the money that the city expects to receive from the federal stimulus package to help restructure the loans that drivers obtained to buy medallions, the city permits that let them own their cabs.

The plan was not the full bailout that taxi drivers had wanted. It would still leave them in debt, with large monthly payments. But if successful, the program could eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars owed by drivers who fell victim to abusive lending practices and then were further devastated by the emergence of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft and a big dip in passengers during the coronavirus outbreak.

“This new plan will be a difference-maker for many, many drivers,” de Blasio said during a news conference.

Critics, however, immediately took aim at the plan, saying it did not nearly go far enough.

“The mayor’s proposal is a disgrace and fails to deliver the significant relief drivers deserve,” said city comptroller Scott Stringer, who has endorsed a more ambitious proposal that could forgive much more debt with less city money. “There is no excuse not to address the crisis with a real solution. We have the means — we just need the will to meaningfully act.”

Still, the new plan marks the most significant step toward helping the city’s cab drivers since a spate of suicides drew global attention to their financial struggles in 2018 and 2019.

As The New York Times reported in a series of articles, a group of taxi industry leaders had artificially inflated the price of a medallion to more than $1 million from about $200,000. They channeled immigrant drivers into loans they could not afford, creating a buying spree that drove up the price of the permits, and then extracted hundreds of millions of dollars before the bubble burst.

During the bubble, government officials worsened the problems by exempting the industry from regulations. The city also chose to fill budget gaps by selling medallions and running ads promoting the permits as “better than the stock market.”

The city could still face a lawsuit from state Attorney General Letitia James, whose office investigated the crisis in response to The Times' series and found the city was chiefly responsible. James announced last year that unless the city bailed out cab drivers, she would sue the city for $810 million and give it to drivers. Her office did not respond to a request for comment about whether the mayor’s plan answered her findings.

Taxi industry leaders have long denied wrongdoing, describing their tactics as normal business practices and noting that regulators approved their methods. They have blamed the industry’s financial crisis exclusively on ride-hailing companies.

In recent years, competition from Uber, Lyft and other companies has reduced the amount of revenue that cab drivers can make by driving. And in the past year, the pandemic has almost entirely crippled the industry, leading many drivers to stop working entirely.

As of January, the latest month for which data is available, revenue for the industry was down 80% over the same month a year earlier. That was better than in the worst days of the pandemic in New York in March and April — but not by much.

Many drivers who own their cabs have gotten by because of the federal government’s enhanced unemployment program, as well as assistance from the Paycheck Protection Program, neither of which will provide support on a long-term basis.

The new plan from City Hall, called the Taxi Medallion Owner-Driver Relief Fund, will provide up to $29,000 in no-interest loans to each of the estimated 3,000 drivers who purchased their own medallion. (Thousands of other drivers work for large fleets that control more than 5,000 other medallions.)

The city’s plan is not nearly enough to bail out the drivers, who each owe about $500,000 in loans on average. But it is expected to be enough to allow drivers to strike deals with their lenders, many of which are eager to recoup as much debt as quickly as possible.

Several lenders — including the largest holder of medallion loans, private equity firm Marblegate Asset Management — have already indicated that they would be willing to whittle loans to a range of about $250,000 to $300,000 in exchange for a down payment.

On Tuesday, a Marblegate spokesman applauded the plan. “This proposal recognizes that taxis are a critical part of New York City’s infrastructure, and provides owner-drivers meaningful relief that will help them restructure their loans — lowering their monthly payments and bolstering their economic prospects, while stabilizing the industry,” he said.

Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk, head of the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, which oversees the industry, said during the news conference that she had already spoken with several lenders.

“I expect the lenders will participate,” said Heredia Jarmoszuk, who was appointed by the mayor last year in part to fix the crisis. “We believe this program is a win-win for everyone.”

Advocates for taxi drivers said they, too, expect lenders to participate. But they said that was because the plan was a windfall for the banks without helping the drivers.

“All that this plan is going to do is going to get immediate cash into the hands of the lenders, while the risk remains on the borrowers’ necks,” said Bhairavi Desai, head of the Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents drivers. “This is absolutely a bailout — for the lenders. It does nothing to help the borrowers.”

Several members of the City Council also criticized the mayor’s plan, saying they had not been consulted before it was announced. Stephen Levin, a Brooklyn Democratic councilman who served on a task force that studied the issue last year, said the task force’s original plan would have provided much more relief at a lower cost.

That plan would have created a public-private partnership to raise money to help drivers.

“This is a huge missed opportunity,” Levin said. “But I am glad they are doing something.”

For years, a generation of New York City taxi drivers who wanted to own their cabs were channeled into exploitative loans that left them deeply in debt, or even bankrupt.

For years, a generation of New York City taxi drivers who wanted to own their cabs were channeled into exploitative loans that left them deeply in debt, or even bankrupt. The city, which reaped hundreds of millions of dollars from the practice, ignored their plight. On Tuesday, for the first time, the city announced a concrete plan to aid the drivers, who have been battered even more by the pandemic. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced a plan to spend $65 million of the money that the city expects to receive from the federal stimulus package to help restructure the loans that drivers obtained to buy medallions, the city permits that let them own their cabs. The plan was not the full bailout that taxi drivers had wanted. It would still leave them in debt, with large monthly payments. But if successful, the program could eliminate hundreds of millions of dollars owed by drivers who fell victim to abusive lending practices and then were further devastated by the emergence of ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft and a big dip in passengers during the coronavirus outbreak. “This new plan will be a difference-maker for many, many drivers,” de Blasio said during a news conference. Critics, however, immediately took aim at the plan, saying it did not nearly go far enough. “The mayor’s proposal is a disgrace and fails to deliver the significant relief drivers deserve,” said city comptroller Scott Stringer, who has endorsed a more ambitious proposal that could forgive much more debt with less city money. “There is no excuse not to address the crisis with a real solution. We have the means — we just need the will to meaningfully act.” Still, the new plan marks the most significant step toward helping the city’s cab drivers since a spate of suicides drew global attention to their financial struggles in 2018 and 2019. As The New York Times reported in a series of articles, a group of taxi industry leaders had artificially inflated the price of a medallion to more than $1 million from about $200,000. They channeled immigrant drivers into loans they could not afford, creating a buying spree that drove up the price of the permits, and then extracted hundreds of millions of dollars before the bubble burst. During the bubble, government officials worsened the problems by exempting the industry from regulations. The city also chose to fill budget gaps by selling medallions and running ads promoting the permits as “better than the stock market.” The city could still face a lawsuit from state Attorney General Letitia James, whose office investigated the crisis in response to The Times' series and found the city was chiefly responsible. James announced last year that unless the city bailed out cab drivers, she would sue the city for $810 million and give it to drivers. Her office did not respond to a request for comment about whether the mayor’s plan answered her findings. Taxi industry leaders have long denied wrongdoing, describing their tactics as normal business practices and noting that regulators approved their methods. They have blamed the industry’s financial crisis exclusively on ride-hailing companies. In recent years, competition from Uber, Lyft and other companies has reduced the amount of revenue that cab drivers can make by driving. And in the past year, the pandemic has almost entirely crippled the industry, leading many drivers to stop working entirely. As of January, the latest month for which data is available, revenue for the industry was down 80% over the same month a year earlier. That was better than in the worst days of the pandemic in New York in March and April — but not by much. Many drivers who own their cabs have gotten by because of the federal government’s enhanced unemployment program, as well as assistance from the Paycheck Protection Program, neither of which will provide support on a long-term basis. The new plan from City Hall, called the Taxi Medallion Owner-Driver Relief Fund, will provide up to $29,000 in no-interest loans to each of the estimated 3,000 drivers who purchased their own medallion. (Thousands of other drivers work for large fleets that control more than 5,000 other medallions.) The city’s plan is not nearly enough to bail out the drivers, who each owe about $500,000 in loans on average. But it is expected to be enough to allow drivers to strike deals with their lenders, many of which are eager to recoup as much debt as quickly as possible. Several lenders — including the largest holder of medallion loans, private equity firm Marblegate Asset Management — have already indicated that they would be willing to whittle loans to a range of about $250,000 to $300,000 in exchange for a down payment. On Tuesday, a Marblegate spokesman applauded the plan. “This proposal recognizes that taxis are a critical part of New York City’s infrastructure, and provides owner-drivers meaningful relief that will help them restructure their loans — lowering their monthly payments and bolstering their economic prospects, while stabilizing the industry,” he said. Aloysee Heredia Jarmoszuk, head of the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission, which oversees the industry, said during the news conference that she had already spoken with several lenders. “I expect the lenders will participate,” said Heredia Jarmoszuk, who was appointed by the mayor last year in part to fix the crisis. “We believe this program is a win-win for everyone.” Advocates for taxi drivers said they, too, expect lenders to participate. But they said that was because the plan was a windfall for the banks without helping the drivers. “All that this plan is going to do is going to get immediate cash into the hands of the lenders, while the risk remains on the borrowers’ necks,” said Bhairavi Desai, head of the Taxi Workers Alliance, which represents drivers. “This is absolutely a bailout — for the lenders. It does nothing to help the borrowers.” Several members of the City Council also criticized the mayor’s plan, saying they had not been consulted before it was announced. Stephen Levin, a Brooklyn Democratic councilman who served on a task force that studied the issue last year, said the task force’s original plan would have provided much more relief at a lower cost. That plan would have created a public-private partnership to raise money to help drivers. “This is a huge missed opportunity,” Levin said. “But I am glad they are doing something.”

New York to spend $65 million to rescue cab drivers. Is it enough?

Cab companies in the US state of California will now be required to convert their drivers from “independent contractors” to employees after a judge ruled in favour of drivers. As part of this, the employees can now avail benefits in the state.

Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc were ordered by a judge on Monday, and plan to appeal the injunction. If they become categorised as employees, the companies will have to offer overtime, healthcare among other benefits.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/business-economy/uber-rides-take-a-hit-during-coronavirus-pandemic-but-food-delivery-business-doubles-318719" hreflang="en">Uber rides take a hit during coronavirus pandemic but food-delivery business doubles</a>

This comes in the backdrop of Assembly Bill 5, a California labour law which took effect this year and says that workers can be considered contractors only if they undertake tasks that fall outside the usual course. It is being seen largely as a threat to the cab industry in the challenging times of COVID-19, when most people have been advised to stay indoors and to avoid contact with other human beings.

In the quarter that ended in June, Uber reported a 67 per cent decline in the their revenues.

Also read:&nbsp;<a href="/business-economy/uber-keeps-asia-hq-in-singapore-ditching-hong-kong-move-316986" hreflang="en">Uber keeps Asia HQ in Singapore, ditching Hong Kong move</a>

San Francisco’s Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman and California Attorney Gen Xavier Becerra are on the same page about employee rights and cab hailing industry. They felt that the companies were directly violating Assembly Bill 5. Both Uber and Lyft have 10 days to appeal this decision.

An analysis by Uber revealed that if drivers were considered employees, the prices of rides would shoot up tremendously. San Francisco alone would witness a 30 per cent jump in prices, while the less-populated areas like InlandEmpire could see a 120 per cent spike.

Cab companies in the US state of California will now be required to convert their drivers from “independent contractors” to employees after a judge ruled in favour of drivers.

Cab companies in the US state of California will now be required to convert their drivers from “independent contractors” to employees after a judge ruled in favour of drivers. As part of this, the employees can now avail benefits in the state. Uber Technologies Inc and Lyft Inc were ordered by a judge on Monday, and plan to appeal the injunction. If they become categorised as employees, the companies will have to offer overtime, healthcare among other benefits. Also read: Uber rides take a hit during coronavirus pandemic but food-delivery business doubles This comes in the backdrop of Assembly Bill 5, a California labour law which took effect this year and says that workers can be considered contractors only if they undertake tasks that fall outside the usual course. It is being seen largely as a threat to the cab industry in the challenging times of COVID-19, when most people have been advised to stay indoors and to avoid contact with other human beings. In the quarter that ended in June, Uber reported a 67 per cent decline in the their revenues. Also read: Uber keeps Asia HQ in Singapore, ditching Hong Kong move San Francisco’s Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman and California Attorney Gen Xavier Becerra are on the same page about employee rights and cab hailing industry. They felt that the companies were directly violating Assembly Bill 5. Both Uber and Lyft have 10 days to appeal this decision. An analysis by Uber revealed that if drivers were considered employees, the prices of rides would shoot up tremendously. San Francisco alone would witness a 30 per cent jump in prices, while the less-populated areas like InlandEmpire could see a 120 per cent spike.

California judge rules Uber drivers are employees, not contractors

With Islamophobia back into the limelight this election season in the United States following Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump&#39;s idea to ban Muslims from entering the US, the Sikh community in New York shares how Sikhism is often confused with Islam here.

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in response to Trump had brought in Khizr Khan, who criticised trump, highlighting the story of his son, who fought for the United States and died during the ongoing Iraq war.

This is what the New York cab drivers - many of whom are Sikh -&nbsp;but are mistaken for being Muslim, have to say.

Nearly half of the taxi drivers in the city are South Asian and two of every 10 are Sikh.

&quot;It&#39;s a good way to make a living because I have no other qualifications, and it&#39;s a way to support your family. But sometimes they call us Osama Bin Laden here,&quot; said Ravinder Singh who has been a cab driver in NYC for 20 years. &quot;I feel they are ignorant - they don&#39;t know Sikhism,&quot; he added. The turbans confuse people, he said.

&quot;It hurts me - I&#39;m not part of OBL. We are a very peaceful country. We love this country. We&#39;re living in this country and growing our family,&quot; Ravinder adds.

&quot;They are misunderstanding us. They think people with beards and turbans are Muslims,&quot; says Satnam Singh, who has been driving around New York for the last 14 years.&nbsp;&quot;They say things like go back to India,&quot; he adds.

The two agree&nbsp;that the racist remarks come with the job. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s horrible - I can&#39;t run behind them, or teach them or fight them,&quot; Satnam Singh adds.&nbsp;&quot;I understand that people don&#39;t understand me. If they try to listen to me, I say I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh.&quot;

&quot;We try to explain who we are, what is our religion, how peaceful we are, they don&#39;t hate Sikhism, they hate Muslims. They say Salam Waliqum - I say I am not Muslim, and I am Sikh and this is the way of our life and they feel happy,&quot; Ravinder Singh says.&nbsp;&quot;I&#39;ve been in Michigan. I bought a convenience store. The white people in the white village hate us. But in New York, I never felt that. We try to help people how much we can. We are not bad people. The first lesson is to love human beings, help each other, help the poor, and don&#39;t discriminate anybody,&quot; he adds.

The discrimination, however, is not as bad as in other parts of the country.&nbsp;But they do want people to understand what Sikhism is all about. For now, they educate one passenger at a time.

&quot;It&#39;ll take time - but one day people will realise we are nice people,&quot; Ravinder adds.

It&#39;s been 15 years since the September 11 attacks. Many Sikhs in NYC say that they have been targeted since then. But they say it&#39;s still not as bad as in other parts of the country, where even Gurudwaras have been attacked. The fundamental reason&nbsp;behind this violence is ignorance, and a lack of understanding of what their religion stands for.

(WION)

Nearly half of the cab drivers in New York city are South Asian and two of every 10 are Sikh

With Islamophobia back into the limelight this election season in the United States following Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's idea to ban Muslims from entering the US, the Sikh community in New York shares how Sikhism is often confused with Islam here. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in response to Trump had brought in Khizr Khan, who criticised trump, highlighting the story of his son, who fought for the United States and died during the ongoing Iraq war. This is what the New York cab drivers - many of whom are Sikh - but are mistaken for being Muslim, have to say. Nearly half of the taxi drivers in the city are South Asian and two of every 10 are Sikh. "It's a good way to make a living because I have no other qualifications, and it's a way to support your family. But sometimes they call us Osama Bin Laden here," said Ravinder Singh who has been a cab driver in NYC for 20 years. "I feel they are ignorant - they don't know Sikhism," he added. The turbans confuse people, he said. "It hurts me - I'm not part of OBL. We are a very peaceful country. We love this country. We're living in this country and growing our family," Ravinder adds. "They are misunderstanding us. They think people with beards and turbans are Muslims," says Satnam Singh, who has been driving around New York for the last 14 years. "They say things like go back to India," he adds. The two agree that the racist remarks come with the job. "It's horrible - I can't run behind them, or teach them or fight them," Satnam Singh adds. "I understand that people don't understand me. If they try to listen to me, I say I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh." "We try to explain who we are, what is our religion, how peaceful we are, they don't hate Sikhism, they hate Muslims. They say Salam Waliqum - I say I am not Muslim, and I am Sikh and this is the way of our life and they feel happy," Ravinder Singh says. "I've been in Michigan. I bought a convenience store. The white people in the white village hate us. But in New York, I never felt that. We try to help people how much we can. We are not bad people. The first lesson is to love human beings, help each other, help the poor, and don't discriminate anybody," he adds. The discrimination, however, is not as bad as in other parts of the country. But they do want people to understand what Sikhism is all about. For now, they educate one passenger at a time. "It'll take time - but one day people will realise we are nice people," Ravinder adds. It's been 15 years since the September 11 attacks. Many Sikhs in NYC say that they have been targeted since then. But they say it's still not as bad as in other parts of the country, where even Gurudwaras have been attacked. The fundamental reason behind this violence is ignorance, and a lack of understanding of what their religion stands for. (WION)

US election 2016: Sikhism often confused with Islam, say Sikh voters

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