Out of a gig

Three ridesharing bikers were waiting for their next ride in the alley beside the Chhayanaut Shongskriti-Bhobon in Dhanmondi 15.

Two of them were playing ludo on a phone while the third stared blankly into space under a bright afternoon sun. They looked bored, and lost. 

"I have been waiting here for around 40 minutes, hoping for a ride, but to no avail," one biker named Mamun said, adding, "I can't even scroll Facebook to pass the time since there is no internet. However, if there was internet, I wouldn't have to wait this long," he added.

As the nation grappled with a 10-day internet blackout and a curfew, gig economy workers, who rely on online platforms for their livelihoods, faced immense challenges. Those who made ridesharing their sole source of income were particularly hit hard. 

"The last few days have been extremely difficult for us. Schools, colleges, and offices were closed due to the general holiday. When offices reopened, educational institutions remained shut. These are our passengers," explained Md Sorwar, who moved to Dhaka for work six months ago after losing his business in Netrakona.

Hasan Tarek, another ridesharing driver, said that Saturdays are usually slow for contract rides, but apps keep them busy. But this Saturday, he didn't get any rides. 

"Normally, I earn around Tk1,000 from the apps. Now, at 1pm, I've been sitting here for over an hour without a single call. We usually get two to three calls by this time," he said.

"If I tell you how I'm coping with it all and supporting my family, it's a sad story. We, the ridesharing drivers, are not well-off; we face crises even on regular days. With the internet cut off and the curfew, it's even worse. Bills and rent are due at the end of the month, and I don't know how I'll manage. Some of us are getting financial help from our families in the village," he added.

At the time of writing this article, Wi-Fi internet was available after five days of blackout but mobile internet, which the bikesharing riders mostly depend on, was yet to be restored.  

Another rider, Waliur Rahman, said, "I used to earn over Tk2,000 daily. Now, I make around Tk500-600. With Pathao and Uber not operating, we waited for calls that never came. Even if people had the internet at home, we didn't have it on the streets." 

The Covid-19 period was tough, but at least the internet-based apps were active. But for gig workers, it was worse this time when there was no internet.  

A few metres ahead, in front of the Ibn Sina hospital, more riders were waiting for passengers. "We take rides on contract, which is illegal according to the BRTA. Also, contract rides pay less," said Md Waliur. 

With the curfew, fewer people were on the roads. Yesterday, Waliur got a Tk200 ride after waiting from 9am to 2pm. Instead of earning Tk1,500 per day as he used to, he could earn only Tk500.

"On top of everything, the price of daily necessities have risen. How can we balance this? This situation is killing us from all sides," he lamented.

Delivery services also suffered from the internet blackout. 

Shohagh Mia, a 20-year-old who works for Pathao Parcel delivery, said, "Order volume has dropped drastically. I used to deliver 60-70 orders daily and currently, I am delivering 10-20. Customers couldn't order due to the internet outage. First five days, without broadband, our job came to a standstill. We rely completely on the internet," he said while riding his bicycle to his collection point, where he got Wi-Fi.

Salman, who works at Redex, a regular delivery company, shared his challenges with us, "We send OTPs (one-time passwords) to our receivers' phones to complete the deliveries. Without Wi-Fi, we took the risk of noting down the pins and entering them later."

The ones doing the deliveries don't have a basic salary, earning Tk25 commission per parcel. The app tracks their parcel deliveries and calculates their salary at the end of the month. 

"Before 19 July, I delivered 40-50 parcels daily. Now, I deliver 10-15. The income I get now doesn't count for much. I need at least Tk25,000 to cover my expenses," said Salman.

Food delivery workers faced similar issues. Some households let them use their Wi-Fi but others didn't, so they couldn't complete the deliveries on the apps.  

"I had to return to the restaurant for the next delivery where I got Wi-Fi and pressed the 'delivered' button and took the next call," said Sumon Ahmed who works for Foodpanda. This doubled their trip time and reduced their ability to take more orders.

Some riders couldn't work at all due to the internet disruption. Many of the road and house numbers in the city are haphazardly designed, so they rely on Google Maps to find the locations. It was difficult to do so without the internet. 

"New riders haven't been working for days," another rider told us. 

Other small gig workers also suffered. Sunny, a university student who teaches college-level students online, said, "I lost around Tk50,000 in the one week of internet blackout."

Ratul, a document translator and a student at ULAB, lost his clients too during this time. "I got an order worth Tk30,000, but before I could confirm it, the internet connection went out for five days. That could have helped pay my semester fees," he said. 

Md Monir, a tyre collector, shared with us, "I used to earn Tk 700-800 daily, but I've only gone out for work twice in the last few days. With the curfew on, business is down. Shops don't open as the products don't fall under daily necessities."