Ponnam meets gig workers, assured their issues will be addressed

Hyderabad: Representatives of the Telangana Gig and Platform Workers Union met minister Ponnam Prabhakar at the Ministers’ Quarters on Friday, September 4, to highlight issues concerning the auto, cab, and app-based transport sectors.

They urged the government to expedite the implementation of Motor Vehicle Aggregator guidelines and to formulate clear policies for fair treatment of drivers of autos, cabs, and goods transport vehicles operating in the app-based transport sector.

They sought enforcement of the minimum base fare, per-kilometre charges and per-minute charges prescribed by the government under the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines-2025 for app-based transport aggregators such as Ola, Uber, Rapido and Porter.

The Union representatives requested strict enforcement of regulations for private vehicles used in app-based passenger and goods transport and urged that commercial registration be made mandatory where required under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

They also requested an increase in vehicle hire charges, citing rising fuel prices, vehicle maintenance costs, and the drivers’ cost of living.

The minister assured them that the government would examine the issues and take necessary steps to reach a positive decision.