Chandigarh: Three days into the cab crackdown, the biggest clue to its impact is what has not changed — the number of passengers on CTU buses. Despite licences of all four major app-based aggregators being suspended, CTU’s daily ridership has remained close to its usual level, suggesting that cab users are not turning to public transport in significant numbers.Chandigarh Transport Undertaking’s Tricity bus service carries around 1.10 lakh passengers on average every day. On Sept 10, it recorded 1.13 lakh passengers — about 3,000 more than the average, or a rise of roughly 2.7%. Officials said this was a routine day-to-day fluctuation and could not be taken as evidence of cab users shifting to buses.The key comparison, officials said, is between the day’s ridership and CTU’s normal daily average. On that measure, there has been no significant increase in bus usage in the three days since the cab licences were suspended.The figures are significant because CTU would be among the most obvious alternatives for commuters affected by the suspension. Had a sizeable section of cab users shifted to buses, officials would have expected daily ridership to move noticeably above its normal range.Instead, the marginal increase of around 3,000 passengers remains within the routine variation in CTU’s daily ridership. The numbers therefore raise a larger question over the effectiveness of the licence cancellations: if fewer app-based cabs are available, where are their passengers going?Intensified enforcementUT officials contended that the number of cabs associated with the four suspended apps has reduced considerably over the past three days, indicating that the action has affected the number of vehicles operating through the platforms.Enforcement has also intensified against vehicles suspected of operating through suspended or non-licensed aggregator platforms, said a UT official. Around 60 challans were issued on Friday, compared to about 70 on Thursday and around 60 on Wednesday.However, the continued technical availability of the apps has emerged as a concern.The Tricity Cab Drivers Welfare Association has written to the State Transport Authority (STA), saying continued technical availability and facilitation of operations defeats the effective implementation of the suspension orders and allows bookings through suspended platforms to continue being initiated and facilitated in Chandigarh.The association has sought geo-fencing and technical disabling of Chandigarh as a service territory on Uber, Rapido, Ola and inDrive for the entire suspension period.It has asked the STA to ensure that no booking, driver-passenger matching, trip generation, dispatch or other aggregator operation is facilitated within Chandigarh during the suspension.Where have cab users gone?The absence of a significant rise in CTU ridership suggests that commuters affected by the suspension may be shifting to autos, personal vehicles, two-wheelers or other transport options, rather than buses.“It also indicates that the disruption has not been substantial enough, at least so far, to force regular cab users to change their mode of travel,” said Vikram Singh Pundir, president of the Tricity Cab Drivers Welfare Association Chandigarh. Regular cab users also stated that their regular cab service was available as usual.For now, the first three days of data offer a mixed picture: the number of app-linked cabs has fallen and enforcement has intensified, but CTU has seen no corresponding passenger surge — indicating that the licence cancellations have so far had little visible impact on the travel choices of cab users.Box: CTU ridership: No major jump–Normal daily ridership: 1.10 lakh–Sept 10 ridership: 1.13 lakh–Increase: 3,000 passengers / 2.7%–Officials: Within routine day-to-day variation–Around 60 challans were issued on Friday against vehicles suspected of operating through suspended or non-licensed aggregator platforms, compared with about 70 on Thursday and 60 on WednesdayBox: Cab association’s demands–Geo-fencing of Chandigarh on Uber, Ola, Rapido and inDrive–Technical disabling of Chandigarh as a service territory–No booking or driver-passenger matching during suspension–No trip generation, dispatch or other aggregator operations in Chandigarh
