Lok Sabha member Manish Tewari has raised concern over the sharp increase in cab fares in the city. Posting on social media platform X, Tewari on Monday, said that commuters should not be made to bear the burden of the ongoing dispute between cab aggregators, drivers and the Chandigarh administration.
In a post on social media, Tewari drew attention to the steep fares being charged for cab rides in Chandigarh and questioned the impact of the recent disruption in app-based taxi services on ordinary commuters.
“I have already taken up the exorbitant fare hike that is extractive bordering on the verge of being extortionist with the Head of the State Transport Authority (STA), Nitish Singla, Deputy commissioner (DC) Nishant Yadav and finance secretary Dipav Lakra and chief secretary Rajesh Prasad. A lot of people are complaining about very steep fare hikes. I have requested them to find a modus vivendi so that an amicable and equitable solution can be arrived at to alleviate the problem,” Tewari wrote on X in response to a question asked to him by a retired Brigadier with the Indian Army.
Calling the overcharging by current taxi operators as ‘daylight robbery’, Brigadier (retd) Hardeep Singh Sohi, a recipient of the Shaurya Chakra, tagged Manish Tewari and wrote that with Uber being banned in Chandigarh, Bharat Taxi is charging more than double the normal fares from commuters. “This is a daylight robbery. Consumers are being fleeced due to lack of choice.”
Reports from various commuters who daily avail online cab services in Chandigarh indicate that passengers who previously paid around ₹100 for short rides have in some cases been quoted ₹175- ₹200, while social-media users have reported substantially higher fares on certain routes following the suspension of major aggregators.
The issue has assumed significance following the UT administration’s action against major app-based cab aggregators. The licences of Uber and Rapido were suspended for six months earlier this month, while the licences of Ola and inDrive had already been suspended. With the major aggregators out of operation, Bharat Taxi has emerged as the principal app-based alternative for commuters in the city.
For commuters the immediate fallout is the sharp increase in the cost of some journeys owing to huge demand and limited availability of cabs.
The crackdown has come amid a prolonged dispute between the administration, cab aggregators and drivers over compliance with Chandigarh’s Motor Vehicles Aggregators Rules, 2025. The rules prescribe fares and lay down requirements relating to driver insurance, training and the use of eligible commercial vehicles.
Cab drivers, meanwhile, have been demanding implementation of the notified fare structure and a revision in rates, arguing that rising fuel and CNG prices, vehicle-loan instalments, insurance, maintenance, permits and other operating costs have made the existing rates difficult to sustain. Under the fare structure notified in July 2025, the base cab fare was fixed at ₹25 per kilometre, while drivers’ unions have subsequently demanded higher rates.