Once Drawn by the Allure of Financial Freedom, BluSmart’s Women Drivers Now Battle Shattered Dreams

Until three years ago, Nisha worked as a beautician to care for her ailing husband and two daughters in Delhi. But she nursed a desire to be her own boss.

Around the same time, she was introduced to BluSmart’s ‘Project Sakhi’ — a programme that was aimed at boosting women’s participation in the mobility sector — through an NGO called Azad Foundation. 

In quick time, Nisha learned to steer a car and became a driver partner with the ride-hailing platform in 2022. It nearly doubled her income while also offering her the flexibility she needed to manage her household. “Which company gives you a weekly off? Who lets you set your own work hours?” she asks.

While the exact number of women drivers has not been disclosed by BluSmart, around 120 women were reportedly affiliated to the platform as drivers in September 2024. “By offering flexible work hours, proper training, emergency leaves, and dedicated restrooms at charging hubs, the (Sakhi) initiative addresses the gender disparity prevalent in the (electric mobility) industry,” BluSmart had said at the time.

Also, in January last year, the company signed an MoU with Automotive Skill Development Council to train and upskill 250 women drivers in the Delhi-NCR region. 

Now, as the embattled cab service has now been called off in the city, the women are suddenly left with no work and money. 

For Nisha, this was the second devastating blow after her husband’s death in February. Although she managed to pay her daughters’ school fees before the abrupt shutdown, they now have to make do with borrowed books. “They are managing with the books of their friends,” she says.

Distracted and unsure, she keeps checking her phone, hoping for a reversal of fortunes.

Meanwhile, back home, Shruti who is also part of the BluSmart drivers’ WhatsApp group, waits anxiously for news. At 22, Shruti has been with BluSmart for 1.5 years. 

She and her father have been the sole earners in her family. Before joining BluSmart, Shruti worked selling aluminum and copper wires. But ‘Blu’, as Shruti calls it, gave her double the salary than her previous job. “I was getting around Rs 20,000 by working from 6 am to 4 pm,” she says. It offered not only higher pay but also respect and recognition for women, she contends. Yet, even amid her pain, Shruti insists that the company treated its employees well.

But now, it’s the weight of uncertainty that’s crushing her. Sitting idle at home feels suffocating. “Everything is uncertain,” she repeats, her voice heavy with anxiety. 

Her father, an auto-rickshaw driver, was severely injured in an accident two weeks ago and remains bedridden. “My father’s debt, my phone’s loan…” she trails off, unsure how she’ll make the future installments. 

Her younger siblings rely on her, and even paying their tuition fees has become a looming burden. The pressure is mounting, and she doesn’t know how much longer she can hold on. 

A similar pressure of loan repayment is suffocating 21-year-old Deepa who worked with BluSmart for six months. 

“I don’t know how to earn my livelihood,” she confesses. 

“I’ve taken micro loans, and my father’s salary comes in only once a month. I have two or three loans  around Rs 1.5 lakh. How will we manage?” Her voice breaks. Her family keeps asking what to do next, but she has no answer. Deep down, she fears what she already knows — that the job may never come back.

These women may hail from different parts of Delhi but what unites them today is their shared connection to BluSmart and the uncertainty that has become a part of their lives.  

At just 21, Deepa says she finally found her passion in driving. It had always fascinated her, even if stepping into what she calls ‘a man’s domain’ felt daunting at first. But she pushed past the fear. 

She believed in the promise that this job would open doors, that she would grow with time. “We were told BluSmart would never throw us out,” she says quietly.

But everything changed on a strange Wednesday evening. A message came in,  just a “temporary issue,” it said. The next morning, her senior called: “Don’t come until further notice.” That was the day the truth began to unravel. Allegations of corruption surfaced. And just like that, her dreams hit pause.

Today, Deepa sits at home, unsure of what comes next. Before BluSmart, she worked in a server line, helping people fill out forms. “This job paid better. I thought things were finally looking up,” she says. Now, the future feels like a blur.

Most of these women drivers had gathered at BluSmart’s North Delhi hub in Kohat Enclave on April 22. This hub, a modest parking lot where drivers once picked up their cars and charged their EVs, now echoes with silence and worry. 

It is 35 kilometers away from the glittering towers of The Camellias in DLF Gurgaon, which came into the focus after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) alleged that BluSmart co-founder Anmol Singh Jaggi diverted company funds to buy a luxury apartment in posh society where the who’s who of the national capital’s corporate elite live.

Meanwhile, in Kohat, Deepa stands beside the lifeless BluSmart cars, her voice trembling as she says, “No company wants female drivers. BluSmart was the only one.” She and others tried approaching Ola and Uber Green, only to be turned away because they’re women. For them, this wasn’t just a job. It was dignity, stability, and the rare comfort of fixed hours and weekly pay. Now, that lifeline is gone. 

Around 40 BluSmart drivers gathered at the Kohat hub on April 22, trying to chart their future after the cab service abruptly halted operations on April 16. The suspension came a day after SEBI barred Anmol Singh Jaggi and Puneet Singh Jaggi, BluSmart’s co-founders and promoters of Gensol Engineering from the securities markets over allegations of share price manipulation and fund diversion. 

“This isn’t only about payouts,” says one of the woman drivers . “It’s about being seen, heard, and respected.” 

Left in the lurch

For now, what these drivers immediately demand is some clarity. “We only came to know from the media that the company’s services are suspended for 90 days,” says a driver.

However, the 90-day figure is actually for the customers who had taken to social media complaining about their money stuck in BluSmart wallets. Soon after the company had suspended its services on April 16, BluSmart had emailed its customers that a repayment of their wallet balance would be made within 90 days.

“We have decided to temporarily close bookings on the BluSmart app. While we strive to be back soon to serve you with the same warmth and smile, we will initiate a refund within the next 90 days if services do not resume before then,” it had said in an email sent to the customers.

But the company, as the drivers allege, has not apprised them of their work status in such clear words as above. BluSmart’s drivers ,  a total of about 10,000 across Delhi-NCR, Bengaluru and Mumbai used to work for the company based on weekly contracts.

BluSmart would sign a seven-day work agreement with the drivers and also pay them on a weekly basis. “We are called driver partners. We were not on the payroll of the company,” says a BluSmart driver.

Hence, they were also not given any social benefits such as provident funds or gratuity. On April 16, all the drivers were asked to stop work in the middle of their duty hours and report to their respective hubs. Since then, they are awaiting direction from the company to resume work.

While their payments for the week of April 14-20 have been finalised yet, they are still unaware about their future with the company.

“At least let us know if we are still working for the company or not,” says one of the BluSmart drivers present at the Kohat Enclave hub. 

The drivers are also not allowed to use the cars as the vehicles are not owned by them but by BluSmart itself. However, a “vehicle lease amount” would be deducted from their daily trip earnings, says a driver.

Through the BluSmart app, a driver shows that for the day of April 14, he earned Rs 2,068 from his trips but faced a deduction of Rs 1,732.50 as lease amount.

Read: BluSmart, Gensol Financial Statements Under ICAI Review After SEBI Fraud Allegations

Drivers say if the company is shutting down, then it should pay them in full for the work already done. And if operations are only temporarily paused, the company should provide them with at least a basic income to survive until services resume. Until press time, BluSmart didn’t respond to Outlook Business’ queries about its future course of action. 

Meanwhile, the senior management of the company told a driver to “move on” and find other jobs. 

Read: HC Bans Anmol Jaggi-founded Firm Gensol, BluSmart from Transferring Leased EVs to a 3rd Party

Complex Legal Landscape

Their concerns sound valid but on the legal turf, the arguments may fall flat. Legal experts say that if the company breaches a contract, the drivers can seek some action from the authorities. However, they cannot invoke the Industrial Dispute Act as they are not categorized as “workmen” but “partners” under the company’s provisions.

“Their legal options are limited. They are ineligible for compensation related to layoffs or retrenchments,” says Prince Kumar Singh, Practicing advocate, High Court of Delhi.

Experts mention that the drivers can seek legal recourse under the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act and the Minimum Wages Act, but even these don’t offer full protection because gig workers are considered not permanent employees.

“Generally, gig workers don’t know the legal nuances—they just sign up to earn money. If the platform shuts down, there’s very little legal recourse. They could argue a fundamental rights violation, but that’s a long legal battle with uncertain outcomes,” says Singh.

Meanwhile, some experts indicate that although traditional employment laws may not offer immediate remedies, aggrieved drivers could explore breach of contract claims, collective action for unfair labour practices. 

Drivers can also seek constitutional relief under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution, citing loss of livelihood.

Read: BluSmart-Gensol Fiasco: ED Detains Puneet Singh Jaggi, Raids Gensol Offices Under FEMA

“Additionally, with the advent of the Code on Social Security, 2020, which formally recognizes gig and platform workers, there is growing judicial and legislative momentum towards affording greater protection to such workers," says Vrinda Patodia, Partner, Obhan & Associates.

As of now, the silence from BluSmart continues. And with it, grows the fear, frustration, and a deep sense of betrayal among those who once powered its promise of clean, electric mobility.

For now, Deepa decides to stay calm. “We hope they hear us on May 4,” she adds, referring to the day BluSmart drivers plan to gather at Jantar Mantar to protest the ongoing situation.