Pune’s delivery riders demand higher payouts as fuel costs eat into already thin margins

3 min readPuneUpdated: Jun 6, 2026 06:08 PM IST

Food delivery workers say rising fuel costs are eating into earnings that were already thin. (File Photo)

Every morning, Parshuram Kamble sets out on his bike through Pune’s Shivajinagar area, navigating traffic and the scorching heat to deliver food orders across the city. Like thousands of other gig workers in the city, Kamble, a Zomato rider, depends entirely on this work to support his family back in Kolhapur. But with petrol prices climbing steadily, what was once a difficult job has become an increasingly punishing one.

“Fuel accounts for around 20 per cent of my per-order delivery cost,” says Kamble. “The per-kilometre payout from the platform hasn’t changed, but petrol prices have been going up, now around Rs 112 per litre; that directly cuts into what I take home every day.”

Kamble targets a monthly income of around Rs 25,000, for which he already puts in nearly 12 hours a day. With earnings under pressure, he says he has no choice but to stretch those hours even further, whether under a blazing sun, during monsoon downpours, or through the chill of winter.

His situation is not unique. Raju Ghube, a Swiggy delivery partner operating in the Katraj-Bibwewadi area, says he travels roughly 100 kilometres delivering food. The latest fuel hike has added over Rs 100 to his daily expenses.

“For short-distance orders, we earn around Rs 5 to 6 per kilometre. For longer trips of around 10 kilometres and above, it goes up to Rs 8 per kilometre. These delivery rates haven’t been revised amid the fuel hike. With rising petrol prices, it has become very difficult to manage,” he explains.

On longer runs, Ghube’s fuel cost has jumped from roughly Rs 2 per kilometre to Rs 3, while the delivery rate he earns has stayed flat. Adding to the burden, he, along with several others, when assigned a long-distance order, usually returns empty – no return order, but the same fuel cost. And if he tries to cancel an inconvenient order, the platform allows only one free cancellation; from the second cancellation onwards, a Rs 25 penalty is imposed, and the day’s incentive is cut entirely.

Ghube, when asked to consider switching to an electric two-wheeler to cut fuel costs, says EV prices and maintenance expenses are high, and charging infrastructure is inadequate, so it is unaffordable to switch from petrol bikes.

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Sagar Deokar, a Zomato rider based in Shivaji Nagar, puts the daily fuel cost increase in simple terms: “I used to spend around Rs 250 on petrol every day. Now it is closer to Rs 350.” That around Rs 100 daily additional fuel expenditure adds up to roughly Rs 3,000 a month, a significant dent for someone whose entire family, including two young children in kindergarten, depends on his income. “Paying their school fees is going to get very difficult if this continues,” he says.

Shubham Kurale is a journalist based in Pune and has studied journalism at the Ranade Institute. He primarily reports on transport and is interested in covering civic issues, sports, gig workers, environmental issues, and queer issues. X:@ShubhamKurale1 ... Read More

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