NEW DELHI/GURUGRAM: With drivers of app-based taxi services going on strike on Friday to press for better terms, commuters in Delhi and NCR were not only forced to pay much higher fares than normal, but some even faced dangerous situations when protesting cabbies tried to stop the taxis in which they were travelling. Traffic police reported receiving 450 calls from passengers about hiked fares amid several ugly incidents involving aggressive protestors.Nitu Bajaj, who lives in Nirvana Country in Gurugram, had a narrow escape when she was returning home from her son's pre-school in an Uber taxi. They managed to evade the first group of protesting drivers, but a short distance away they were again attacked by 20 other drivers. "Near Aerocity Square Mall, they threw a stone at us. The glass window broke and injured both my son and me," said Bajaj. "I had to threaten the driver to stop the car because he was scared that the protestors would beat him."Nisha Khetarpal, travelling from Sector 9 in Gurugram to Cyber City, had a similar experience when 40 people brought it to a halt just a minute after she had boarding it. "They told me to get down and I walked back home," she said. Dalia Goswami's taxi was also stopped by an unruly bunch while on the way to the Surajkund Crafts Fair. In south Delhi, a commuter, Sanjana Saxena, tweeted: "Booked a cab, had no cars available. 5 mins into the ride hooligans stop cab snatch device, threaten to hurt"Besides such cases, the shortage of cabs on the road also pushed autorickshaw fares to abnormal highs. Monika Chaturvedi, a boutique worker, waited at Patparganj for 20 minutes before a taxi came. "It charged me Rs 400 to go to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, which is double the normal fare," said Chaturvedi. "The autorickshaws refused to take me there."Autos from NCR refused to pick up passengers wanting to travel short distances or charged up to 10 times the regular fare. Passengers near the New Delhi Railway Station found it difficult to book cab on the mobile apps. A group of tourists from Karnataka waited for nearly an hour to a taxi willing to take them at the usual rate. "We searched for private cabs, but they charges us Rs 700 from the station to Noida," one of the tourists said.Asked for a response, an Uber executive said, "A small group is disrupting our services in parts of Delhi, and we have received a few reports of threats and intimidation. We are working hard to ensure reliable rides are available for everyone. We request the authorities to ensure the safety of riders and drivers." Ola declined to comment on the strike.

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