Nearly a month after Chandigarh’s State Transport Authority suspended the last of the city’s big private ride apps, daily cab users in the Tricity are still scrambling for reliable rides, The Times of India reports.
Uber and Rapido lost their aggregator licences for six months on 8 September. Ola had already been suspended on 17 June, and inDrive on 10 August. That left all four major private platforms without valid permission to run cabs or bike-taxis in the Union Territory. The TOI piece says roughly 100,000 frequent cab users were hit almost at once.
Why the licences were pulled
The orders sit under Rule 17 of the Chandigarh Administration Motor Vehicles Aggregators Rules, 2025. The Tribune and Indian Express say the STA cited failures on driver insurance and training, the notified fare structure, local offices found locked, and other operational rules, despite notices and hearings.
STA secretary Nitish Singla said Uber and Rapido had been given enough time to comply on insurance, training and fares, but had not. Suspensions run into December 2026 for Ola, February 2027 for inDrive, and March 2027 for Uber and Rapido, unless the authority accepts later compliance.
Drivers had been striking for months over commissions and fares. Unions welcomed the crackdown; for passengers it narrowed app choice sharply.
What riders say is happening now
TOI says some suspended apps still take bookings on phones, which adds confusion. Passengers report drivers accepting a trip, then calling to ask for a cancel so the fare can be agreed off the app. The price shown online no longer holds. Others say they now have to choose between negotiating on the spot or hunting another car.
Enforcement has been stepped up. Hindustan Times reported challans and impoundings against vehicles still taking suspended-app work, and said the administration had asked the Centre for GPS-based blocking of those apps.
Bharat Taxi as the main legal option
Bharat Taxi, run by Sahkari Taxi Cooperative Ltd, is the principal organised alternative still licensed to operate. Some drivers have put its stickers on cars. Commuters told TOI it is often the only legal app choice, but that fares can look higher than the old multi-app market, especially when demand spikes, because they can no longer shop rates across several platforms.
For now, work, college, airport and station trips in Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula depend more on Bharat Taxi, conventional taxis and whatever informal deals still appear on banned apps — with the STA warning those off-licence bookings risk enforcement.