App-based drivers announce all-India ‘breakdown’ over fares

App-based transport workers affiliated with Ola, Uber, Rapido, Porter and other ride-hailing platforms will bring services to a halt across the country on Saturday, observing an All-India “breakdown” to protest what they describe as plummeting incomes and deepening exploitation in the sector.

The nationwide action has been called by the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT), which accuse both the Centre and state governments of failing to enforce minimum base fares under the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025.

In a statement issued on Friday, the unions said that despite the notified guidelines, aggregator companies continue to unilaterally fix fares, pushing drivers into unsustainable working hours and eroding their earnings. “The absence of notified minimum base fares has allowed platforms to dictate terms, worsening exploitation of workers,” the unions said.

Shaik Salahuddin, founder president of TGPWU and co-founder and national general secretary of IFAT, said the guidelines clearly mandate that base fares be fixed in consultation with recognised worker unions, a provision that remains unimplemented. “Aggregator companies are openly violating the spirit of the law, while governments remain silent spectators,” he said.

As part of the protest, auto-rickshaw and cab drivers across platforms are expected to either cancel ride requests or completely switch off their ride-hailing applications. In Telangana alone, Salahuddin said, the sector comprises around 2.5 lakh autorickshaw drivers, 1.5 lakh cab drivers and nearly 50,000 Porter drivers, underscoring the scale of the mobilisation.

Among the key demands raised by the unions is the immediate notification of minimum base fares for all app-based transport services — including autos, cabs, bike taxis and goods carriers — in consultation with recognised driver unions, as stipulated in the Aggregator Guidelines, 2025. They are also seeking a strict ban on the use of private (non-commercial) vehicles for commercial passenger and goods transport, or their mandatory conversion into commercial category vehicles in line with the Motor Vehicles Act and the new guidelines.

The unions have urged both the Centre and the states to initiate immediate dialogue with worker representatives to ensure fair, lawful and sustainable regulation of the rapidly expanding app-based transport sector.

TGPWU has already written to Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari, Telangana transport minister Ponnam Prabhakar and other senior officials, formally informing them of the decision to observe the nationwide “breakdown” and reiterating their demand for urgent government intervention.

Saturday’s protest, union leaders say, is intended as a warning shot, signalling mounting unrest among gig workers who form the backbone of India’s app-driven transport economy.

With IANS inputs