App-Based Cab & Rickshaw Drivers To Protest Across Maharashtra On Independence Day

App-based cab and rickshaw services across Maharashtra, including Mumbai, are likely to be hit on Independence Day, August 15, as hundreds of app-based cab and auto drivers affiliated with several ride-hailing platforms such as Ola, Uber, and Rapido gear up for a state-wide protest.

The Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Union, which is spearheading the agitation, has announced a day-long peaceful demonstration to be held outside Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) in key cities including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, and Nashik. The protest is scheduled from 8 am to 4 pm, during which participating drivers will refrain from operating their vehicles.

Union leader Keshav Nana Kshirsagar said the protest is intended to draw attention to what he described as the "worsening economic conditions" of gig workers in the transport sector.

“Drivers are struggling to survive on the meagre earnings they receive. On August 15, most drivers associated with app-based cab and rickshaw services will stay off the roads. We will hoist the national flag outside RTO offices in a show of peaceful resistance,” Kshirsagar said.

Drivers participating in the protest have raised concerns about declining incomes, rising operational costs, and lack of social security benefits. Many claim they are unable to meet basic financial obligations such as loan EMIs, vehicle maintenance, and fuel expenses.

“Even paying my monthly EMI has become difficult. I barely earn enough to feed my family,” said one Mumbai-based Uber driver. “To make matters worse, these companies keep levying arbitrary penalties and offer no insurance or social protection.”

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The demonstration coincides with the country’s Independence Day, a symbolic choice by the protestors to emphasize their demand for fair working conditions. According to Ram Narayan Yadav (35), an app-based cab driver, the demonstration will also serve as a platform to plan the next phase of their agitation. “We want to send a strong message, not just to the aggregator companies but also to the government, that gig workers are facing a crisis. We will not remain silent anymore,” he said.

With hundreds of drivers expected to join the protest, commuters across Maharashtra are likely to face difficulties in availing app-based transport services, especially during daytime. The Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Union has urged the state government to enforce regulations that ensure fair pay, social security benefits, and an end to what it calls exploitative practices by ride-hailing companies.