App-based cab drivers affiliated with Ola, Uber, and InDrive have launched a major strike across the Chandigarh Tricity region of Chandigarh, Mohali, and Panchkula, severely disrupting daily travel until June 16. Organized by the Tricity Cab Drivers Welfare Association, the strike aims to pressure the State Transport Authority into implementing a long-delayed aggregator policy and revising base fares from ₹25 to ₹35 per kilometre.
While the drivers argue that stagnant rates amid a ₹9 per kilogram spike in Compressed Natural Gas prices make their livelihoods unsustainable, tech companies have offered minimal intervention, and the local administration has yet to enforce the new tariff notification. Consequently, an estimated 50,000 daily commuters have been left stranded in intense summer heat, forcing them to rely heavily on packed government buses and overpriced auto-rickshaws.
The Core Conflict: Why Tricity Cabs Have Gone Dark
The protest stems from deep financial stress among gig workers, driven by rising inflation and unchanged fare caps. Drivers gathered in large numbers at the Sector 25 Rally Ground in Chandigarh, carrying symbolic effigies to protest against aggregators and local administrative bodies. The drivers’ union has highlighted that the Chandigarh Administration fixed the base cab fare at ₹25 per kilometre back in 2025, and despite a complete overhaul of the state’s economic landscape since then, this rate has not been revised. Drivers are demanding an immediate hike to ₹35 per kilometre to offset their losses.
This stagnant fare structure stands in stark contrast to skyrocketing operational costs. Over the last year, fuel prices have climbed drastically, with Compressed Natural Gas prices alone surging by nearly ₹9 per kilogram, while petrol and diesel costs continue to eat away at daily margins. When vehicle loan instalments, soaring commercial insurance premiums, fitness certificates, and routine maintenance are factored in, operators claim they are losing money on every single ride.
The Boiling Point: Enforcing the June 16 Ultimatum
While sporadic log-outs and daily service suspensions, particularly during peak hours up to 4 PM, are already causing significant disruption, the situation is set to worsen. Union leaders have announced that if the State Transport Authority does not formally implement a revised fare notification immediately, the drivers will enforce a complete, absolute shutdown across the Tricity until June 16. On that final day, thousands of drivers plan to completely surround and picket the State Transport Authority office in Chandigarh to force a definitive policy action.
Drivers express a collective frustration that aggregator companies offer empty assurances during every protest while the ground reality remains completely unchanged. Many note that their household budgets are broken and their bank instalments are bouncing, making it impossible to run a business at a loss just to keep multi-billion-dollar applications profitable.
The Rise of Unregulated Competition
Beyond fuel prices, the protest has turned its focus toward regulatory failures. Drivers are furious over the rampant, unchecked proliferation of illegal private registration bike taxis and delivery vehicles operating passenger services across Chandigarh and Mohali. Under current transport laws, commercial passenger transport requires specific commercial permits, yellow license plates, and commercial driver background checks. Registered cab drivers argue that aggregators are allowing private vehicle owners to bypass these expensive legal hurdles, creating an unregulated environment that undercuts drivers who pay commercial taxes and permit fees to the government.
The Commuter Fallout: How the Tricity is Coping
The ongoing strike has severely hit urban mobility, directly impacting an estimated 50,000 daily passengers across the Chandigarh-Mohali-Panchkula grid. Office-goers, tech workers commuting to Mohali’s IT blocks, patients traveling to local hospitals, and students have been left with very few options. With app availability virtually nonexistent or hit by extreme surge pricing during active windows, the burden has shifted entirely onto public infrastructure.
The Chandigarh Transport Undertaking has become the region’s primary transport option, with buses running across 65 to 70 local and suburban routes seeing record passenger volumes. At the same time, local auto-rickshaws, sensing the vulnerability of stranded commuters, have reportedly doubled or tripled their standard fares, leading to widespread consumer frustration in the severe summer heat.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective –
The ongoing impasse in the Tricity exposes a troubling gap in how our modern urban economies treat gig workers. At The Logical Indian, we believe that real progress can only happen when economic systems are rooted in empathy, fairness, and the dignity of labour. Gig drivers are the backbone of our city’s daily movement, yet they are often left trapped between rigid tech algorithms and slow-moving administrative policies. While the daily frustration of thousands of stranded commuters is incredibly tough especially in this severe summer heat the financial despair of drivers who cannot afford their monthly vehicle instalments or basic household expenses cannot be overlooked.
A sustainable city cannot be built on corporate apathy or regulatory inaction. We strongly urge the Chandigarh Administration and the aggregator companies to step forward, open an immediate and respectful dialogue with the drivers’ welfare associations, and implement a fair fare structure that ensures corporate accountability and basic welfare for workers.
