Uber, Rapido, Ola, and Porter drivers plan nationwide strike on Saturday

The operations of ride-hailing services such as Uber, Rapido and Ola may be disrupted on Saturday, February 7, as drivers across the country plan a nationwide strike over pay structures. Referring to the strike as an “All India Breakdown”, drivers intend to log out of their respective platforms for a period of six hours during the day.

 

Some of the drivers’ demands include government-notified minimum base fares for ride-hailing platforms, decided in consultation with drivers. In addition, they have also asked for a ban on private vehicles being used for commercial rides.

 

“Despite the Motor Vehicles Aggregator Guidelines, 2025, platforms continue to fix fares arbitrarily. Our demands are clear: Notify minimum base fares and end the misuse of private vehicles for commercial rides,” the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union (TGPWU), which has called the strike along with several national labour organisations, said in a social media post.

   

Shaik Salauddin, founder president of TGPWU and co-founder and national general secretary of the Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers, said: “The strike will be bigger and more effective than the gig workers’ strike during New Year’s Eve. In Hyderabad alone, 1.5 lakh drivers have shown interest in participating in the strike. We are also seeing strong support from regions such as Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana, among others.” Notably, on December 31, food delivery and quick commerce workers had staged demonstrations over low payouts and intense working conditions.

 

Sharing the strategy, Salauddin said there is no fixed six-hour slot that drivers across the country will follow; instead, they will log out from the platforms when demand is higher. “For instance, the demand in Kolkata is high around 12 pm, so drivers will strike around that window. It will be different for different cities,” he added. Drivers will also gather at Jantar Mantar in the national capital.

 

This week, TGPWU also penned a letter to Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari. It wrote: “In the absence of government-regulated fare structures, aggregator companies continue to unilaterally fix fares, leading to severe income insecurity, exploitation and unsustainable working conditions for millions of transport workers. As a mark of protest against continued policy inaction and to assert our legitimate demands, app-based transport workers across the country will observe an All-India Breakdown on February 7, 2026.”

 

Rapido, Uber, Ola and Porter did not respond to email queries sent by this newspaper till the time of publishing.

 

While Rapido completes about six million rides a day across more than 150 cities, Uber is present in nearly 128 cities, Ola is reportedly in over 100 cities, and Porter operates in nearly 22 cities.

 

Even as unions and drivers plan to stage a strike, on February 5, the Ministry of Cooperation launched Bharat Taxi, a government-backed ride-hailing service that works on a zero-commission basis. Under the cooperative model, drivers, referred to as Sarathis, are collective owners of the platform, with shared decision-making rights and a direct stake in its governance and earnings.