Daily commuters in Chandigarh continue to bear the brunt of the suspension of all four major cab aggregators, forced to pay double or triple the usual fare to travel with Bharat Taxi, the lone legal operator, or with vehicles plying illegally. Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari has now demanded immediate revocation of the suspensions, alleging a “deep vested interest” behind the decision.Speaking to The Tribune from New York, Tewari said, “It’s the most stupid decision.” He said he had repeatedly raised the matter with the Chief Secretary, the Finance-cum-Transport Secretary, the Deputy Commissioner and State Transport Authority (STA) Secretary Nitish Singla, who ordered the suspensions.“All the officials confided in me that this decision is absolutely wrong and needs to be revoked, but for over two months it has not been revoked,” Tewari said. He claimed officers admitted to him that “some cussed official took this wrong decision”.“It shows deep vested interest, giving undue advantage to a single player, Bharat Taxi,” he said. “If the top UT brass feels it’s a wrong decision and needs to be revoked and it’s not getting revoked, it shows that either there are forces beyond them, more powerful, behind this stupid decision that has put thousands of daily commuters at the receiving end.”He added, “It’s funny that all these cab aggregators are running freely in Mohali, New Chandigarh and Panchkula but are banned in Chandigarh, where commuters are forced to pay double to triple the actual fare.” He demanded revocation “in the larger public interest”.Tewari made similar remarks on X, saying he was “increasingly becoming convinced” that a vested interest “within or outside” the administration had driven the decision.When contacted, STA Secretary Nitish Singla said the suspended aggregators had filed appeals before the Transport Secretary and the matter was pending adjudication. He added that the administration was taking all possible steps to check public inconvenience and exploitation.Commuters’ woesA viral post on X by TSR Kaushik, to which Tewari responded, summed up the complaints. It said short rides that once cost about Rs 100 are now quoted at Rs 175-200 or more. Passengers reported drivers accepting app bookings, then cancelling and demanding inflated cash fares. Waits are longer and availability is poor, leaving many with no choice but to pay what is demanded. The post’s figures are anecdotal and not official.Complaints of steep fares have been building since September, when Brig. Hardeep Singh Sohi (Retd), a Shaurya Chakra awardee, called the rates “daylight robbery” arising from lack of choice. Bharat Taxi’s fares have drawn controversy elsewhere. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, at a launch in Gujarat, had dismissed reports of higher fares as misleading and said competitors cut prices to block its entry.Drivers also squeezedThe enforcement drive has hit drivers too. By October 6, STA had challaned 812 and impounded 103 vehicles, 915 in all, with a Rs 10,000 fine on each, totalling Rs 91.5 lakh. The post alleges STA teams pose as customers to catch drivers using suspended apps and that drivers are resorting to workarounds as earnings fall. STA has also written to the Centre seeking a ban on the four apps.How it came to thisSTA suspended Ola on June 17, InDrive on August 10, and Uber and Rapido on September 8, each for six months under Rule 17 of the Chandigarh Administration Motor Vehicles Aggregators Rules, 2025. Its orders cite non-provision of driver health and term insurance, non-implementation of notified fares, forced subscription models, non-commercial vehicles on platforms and locked local offices. The suspensions followed a 100-day drivers’ protest led by the cab union, which ended on September 9. Bharat Taxi, run by Sahkari Taxi Cooperative Limited, was formally launched in the city on September 18.What nextThe suspensions run till December 2026 (Ola), February 2027 (InDrive) and March 2027 (Uber, Rapido). Unless the administration revisits them or the companies comply, commuters face months more of high fares and thin supply.