India’s ride-hailing sector has revved a long way since its early days when the OGs, Fiat Padminis and Hindustan Motors’ Ambassadors, guised as kali-peeli (black and yellow taxis), would ply on the roads of India’s metro cities, charging by the kilometre, moving customers from point A to point B.

Then came the era of Ola and Uber. While Ola started its journey as a cab aggregator in 2010 from Mumbai, Uber entered India only in 2013. With this, began the Grand Prix in India’s ride-hailing market.

With a trunk full of discounts for customers and commissions for drivers, exceeding an engineer’s paycheque in many cases, the two cab aggregators went full throttle, burning cash as if there was no tomorrow, to capture a significant chunk of users and drivers on their platforms.

Result? A duopoly of ride-aggregating behemoths that just cannot be ignored.

It was now time for the duo of Ola and Uber to reap what they had sown. As a logical next step, they tightened the discount stream and started squeezing drivers, making them cough up nearly 35% commissions in some cases.

Well, why not? It was now time for the juggernauts to eat. And, they ate and ate, unconcerned who leaves or stays, as they had already baptised a section of customers divorced to the thought of owning a vehicle.

The country’s ride-hailing space is standing at yet another hairpin turn.

This time, the hype is all about zero commission, a model that Rapido introduced in 2023. And, let’s not forget Namma Yatri, a direct-to-driver app with no middlemen or commissions.

A Quick Detour: Under the zero-commission model, ride-hailing platforms let drivers keep 100% of their fare for a small daily or monthly fee.

Moving on, Uber rolled out a SaaS-based zero-commission model for auto drivers across India in February. Ola followed suit, introducing a similar zero-commission structure for a monthly subscription.

However, industry stakeholders and analysts believe that for players like Ola and Uber, this is less about empowering drivers and more about remaining relevant in a competitive landscape where the driver interest is steering towards zero-commission models.

Zero-Commission Model: Gamechanger Or Eyewash?

Historically, Ola and Uber have taken a 20–30% cut from every ride, a model that’s long angered drivers, who say they’re left with scraps after expenses.

Commissions on surge pricing further dent their earnings. For example, there have been instances when they received a fraction........

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