Ola, Uber and other app-based transport drivers’ strike: What are their demands and why are they protesting?

App-based transport workers, including drivers and transportation workers associated with large platforms specified arsenic Ola, Uber, Rapido, Porter, and different app-based transport services, announced an all-India onslaught connected Saturday (February 7, 2026) to protestation falling incomes and expanding exploitation successful the level transport sector. The transport workers besides raised their request for contiguous redress regarding panic fastener installations successful the applications. The onslaught is apt to interaction lakhs of commuters successful Tier-1, Tier-2, and metro cities crossed the country.

Who is starring the strike?

The protestation telephone was fixed by Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU) and Indian Federation of App-based Transport Workers (IFAT), involving thousands of drivers employed successful cab-hailing and quick-delivery platforms.

Speaking to PTI, Keshav Kshirsagar, caput of Maharashtra Kamgar Sabha, said the onslaught began crossed Maharashtra and different parts of the state successful the morning. Most autorickshaw and taxi drivers person supported the strike, Mr. Kshirsagar said.

Karnataka App-based Workers Union (KAWU), which excessively announced its information successful the All-India strike, had written to Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and State Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy to instantly notify minimum basal fares for app-based transport services, and to prohibit usage of non-commercial vehicles for commercialized transport. “Without regulated basal fares for transport services, aggregator companies tin unilaterally acceptable fare prices, and riders and drivers are near successful precarious, unstable, and exploitative moving conditions. This includes, but is not constricted to, workers connected platforms specified arsenic Ola, Uber, Porter, and Rapido,” the union’s missive notes.

What are the demands?

President of TGPWU and co-founder nationalist wide caput of IFAT Shaik Salauddin said the protestation is to request Central and State Government-notified minimum basal fares for Ola, Uber, Rapido and different aggregators specified arsenic autos, cabs and motorcycle taxis-set with operator unions. This is pushing millions of app-based drivers into poorness portion aggregators proceed to gully the profit.

Addressing a missive to Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, IFAT and TGPWU pressed the request for government-notified minimum basal fares for app-based transport services. “In the lack of government-regulated fare structures, aggregator companies proceed to unilaterally hole fares, starring to terrible income security, exploitation, and unsuitable moving conditions for millions of transport workers. The Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, intelligibly mandate regulatory oversight, fare transparency, and extortion of operator livelihoods, which indispensable beryllium efficaciously implemented done enforceable Central and State-level notifications,” the missive noted.

Mr. Salauddin said, contempt implementation of Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, platforms proceed to hole prices arbitrarily. “Therefore, we property 2 demands earlier State and Central Governments. This includes notification of minimum basal fares and extremity of backstage vehicles for commercialized rides,” helium added.

“We person a database of demands that we privation to taxable to Union Minister Nitin Gadkari. There should beryllium a Rashtriya Chalak Ayog for the payment of drivers, backstage motorcycle taxis should beryllium banned instantly crossed the country, and surge pricing connected app-based platforms should beryllium addressed, arsenic the drivers bash not get immoderate payment retired of it, but radical deliberation drivers are making money,” said Kishan Verma, president of All Delhi Auto Taxi Congress Union.

Strike’s impact

Although the national claimed that drivers person kept their vehicles disconnected the roads, taxis and autorickshaws person been disposable successful Maharashtra for booking connected app-based platforms of large companies, including Uber, Ola and Rapido, since the aboriginal hours of the day.

The Maharashtra Kamgar Sabha had earlier said that the onslaught was aimed astatine opposing the "arbitrary" fare policies of thrust aggregators, seeking strict enforcement against "illegal" motorcycle taxi operations that were affecting the livelihoods of licensed cab and autorickshaw drivers.

Similarly, successful Delhi, a delegation of transport and transportation gig workers met the Leader of Opposition (LoP) successful the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to sermon the request for authorities from the Centre and implementations of regulations successful Congress-ruled States.

"While determination are 140 panic fastener instrumentality providers approved by the Central Government, the State Government has declared astir 70% of these companies unauthorised. As a result, cab drivers are being forced to region antecedently installed devices and walk astir ₹12,000 unnecessarily to instal caller devices, causing terrible fiscal hardship," the connection said.

The drivers' assemblage besides raised concerns implicit nonaccomplishment of income owed to an summation successful the fig of autorickshaws nether the unfastened licence policy, and besides alleged that victims of accidents involving amerciable motorcycle taxis are denied security benefits.