[pahwa]

Last week I got to use both Uber and Ola in Bangalore.

The experience left me mesmerized. One of the rides was from Airport to KR Puram in Uber Black (Innova) for just 600 bucks (after discount of 500 bucks for my MasterCard).

Two days later, booked a cab for my father from Yeshwantpur railway station to Home, using Ola mobile app. Yet again, cab was right on time and was professional, clean and transparent.

[sdp1975]

Originally Posted by pahwa

Two days later, booked a cab for my father from Yeshwantpur railway station to Home, using Ola mobile app. Yet again, cab was right on time and was professional, clean and transparent.

Getting a cab on a weekend from Majestic or Yeshvantpur is next to impossible unless you've booked in advance. One long distance train arrives , and all the nearby Ola's and Meru's will disappear.

I arrived in Majestic around 1:30 pm on Sunday in Karnataka Express. When the train entered I could see cabs available on my Ola app. After having lunch I tried searching for cabs around 2PM on the Ola app - not a single taxi nearby. One Ola Prime was available but that would take 20 min to arrive.

Finally took a prepaid taxi costing 500/- to home. I had paid 300/- in an Ola sedan on same route while travelling from my home to Majestic a few days ago.

[binaiks]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Getting a cab on a weekend from Majestic or Yeshvantpur is next to impossible unless you've booked in advance. One long distance train arrives , and all the nearby Ola's and Meru's will disappear.

I arrived in Majestic around 1:30 pm on Sunday in Karnataka Express. When the train entered I could see cabs available on my Ola app. After having lunch I tried searching for cabs around 2PM on the Ola app - not a single taxi nearby. One Ola Prime was available but that would take 20 min to arrive.

Should always book a cab in advance - you always have the option of cancelling or rescheduling if the train is late. Have done this a few time and it works fine. I find the Meru app to be better than the Ola app - Meru usually would have a cab within 15mins distance, while the Ola app has always failed in getting a cab for me.

[pahwa]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

Getting a cab on a weekend from Majestic or Yeshvantpur is next to impossible unless you've booked in advance. One long distance train arrives , and all the nearby Ola's and Meru's will disappear.

Well, I was perhaps lucky this time. I booked the taxi just 10 mins before the train arrival time and the cab was just there when it was required. Costed less than an auto

[manduvindupondu]

Yes JoeVijay, the issue that I discussed about Meru Cabs is out in the open. The Meru cabs drivers themselves are not happy . They beat up their supervisor and set a Meru cab ablaze. Hope the monopoly of Meru at RGIA , Hyd breaks. Also, RGIA airport is involved in the scam. Please see http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/45028548.cms for more details.

@Dry Ice, I booked from Ola android app. There was an sms about driver details. As my pick up time was nearing, I called the driver to remind him. He plainly said he was not interested in my booking and refused to pick me. I had to cancel the booking and take a combo of hitch hike/TSRTC city bus/walk. I do not use auto as a matter of principle. Btw, my destination was Gachibowli, Hyderabad. May be the driver doesn't like the area :-)
As someone in this thread observed, Ola cabs range from pathetic to Super ! Very unreliable.

[venuvedam]

Uber is now offering 25% off on all rides in Hyderabad till Friday to counter Meru's strike.

Disclaimer: I have no business interest in Uber. Just a happy customer of them. that's all.

[phamilyman]

So olacabs is too smart for its own good. When I select 10pm pickup in Delhi, that's what it means. Right?

Wrong. Ola will occasionally apply a time zone correction basis your location and book the cab. Instead of a cab waiting for me at 10 PM, they sent the cab at 730 PM. About 50 missed calls ensued while I was probably over the bay of Bengal!!

Interestingly this never happened with my pickups in Chennai. Only this time in delhi did it happen. But still, half an hour of my life wasted queuing for regular cabs.

Common sense is truly uncommon!

Their ride now feature is a total lie. Couple of weeks back, on 18/10 1 am, it gave my business to a cab 10 km away. That chap kept trolling me for 20 min and then rejected the pickup. Thankfully another cab just became available at the same time so I got lucky. Ola support as usual did not care nor bother to make make alternative arrangements!

[hserus]

uber shows you minutes and distances - and availability is decent even past midnight. easier to pick there.

[hrman]

With my car under repairs, I had a chance to experience Meru and Ola in the past two weeks. Here is my experience.

1. Meru :- The app is quite intuitive and good to use. Shows real time availability. Has an advance booking option too. But when I booked for a peak time 6 pm journey from Vittal mallya road (one of the busy roads in Bangalore), I did not get any confirmation 20 minutes prior to the journey time and a cab was not assigned at all. This has happened on 3 occasions in 5 days. I believe they just take advance slot booking and then allot cabs at the trip time on preferential basis.
Also their wallet system of trip payment takes at least 2-3 minutes to confirm to the driver. So its awkward waiting for 3 minutes in the cab after the journey is completed, just for the driver to get the confirmation of prepaid amount being credited to him. On 2 occasions, I had to pay the driver by cash since the amount was not yet credited to him through the wallet system. Then got a confirmation 10 minutes later and had to call the driver and get the cash back from him. Its always better to pay by cash to prevent any technical hassles. Meru Genie is quite cost effective, but not so reliable

2. Ola: Their app is again intuitive and nice to use. After booking, the trip start time shows something totally different from what you had booked. Refresh and it shows the correct time, must be a bug I had a good experience so far in all their trips. Their advance booking slots are mostly unavailable, so you need to take a risk with the book now option. They also charge Rs.50 additional for trips starting from 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7 pm, which turns out to be costlier than Meru genie. But the quality of Ola’s cabs are far better, drivers are better behaved and their wallet system of payment works instantaneously. When I refilled the Ola wallet with 1500 bucks a couple of weeks back, I got a Diwali special additional credit of Rs.1000/- They have always turned up on time and before time by almost 30 minutes on 2 occasions.

[msdivy]

Saw this just now ! Ola starts on-demand auto rickshaw pilot in Bangalore

Ola is now piloting its on-demand auto rickshaw service in Bangalore, in a bid to tap into the unorganised three wheeler market.

An auto driver that ET spoke to said the company has given them a Huawei handset for booking and tracking and opened a bank account for the drivers as well. Ola charges a convenience fee of Rs 10 and the auto driver promises to go by meter.

"We were also given a quick training on etiquettes by the company," a Bangalore-based auto driver told ET. Ola has about 300 autos in Bangalore for this experiment. However unlike Ola's taxi model, the customer will need to first enter drop off location before an auto driver accepts the ride.

[sachinpk]

Looks like the auto rickshaw drivers have finally smelt the coffee.
For auto users, cabs seem fare and lovely
These crooks & thugs of the auto rickshaw and taxi cab associations had tried to threaten (by strikes etc.) the Traffic Commissioner asking him to take action against big cab companies. The news reports "But their threats backfired on Wednesday when the transport department categorically stated it "cannot dictate terms to taxi operators as long as the public are benefitting." .

It is time the famous thugs & crooks gang of Bengaluru who have been having a gala time for last 20 odd years are now taught a lesson, they will never forget in life. I hope their attitude would improve dramatically when they find it tough to feed their families.

[hserus]

"If you can't beat them, join them".

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/45179102.cms

http://www.medianama.com/2014/10/223...ill-this-work/

[sachinpk]

Will cross post this one on the Taxi & Mini-cabs thread as well. Any news which talks about auto rickshaw drivers suffering is good news ...
Nano joins Taxi For Sure’s fleet
Cab service with auto fares
Rudramurthy, General Secretary, Auto Rickshaw Drivers Union, said: “We have already complained to the Transport Minister, Transport Commissioner and District Commissioner about cabs lowering their fares. We are also planning to organise a protest in front of the DC’s office on Friday against the Nano taxis.”

Keep on complaining and crying Mr. Rudramurthy, your gang was making lots of people do this for the last 15-20 years.

[manduvindupondu]

Yes, the Auto MAFIA should be shown their true place - i.e out of business. They were rude, Guthka spewing, exhorbitant rates, rash driving, stinking, wrong route driving, doesnt give change, without licenses, indulging in crime and what not!? A long list of irritants against Autos.

I was disappointed when in Hyderabad, they called for a strike and didnt keep their word! Many autos were still ply They were corrupt/insincere even in their strike !

Thanks to Sri PV Narasimha Rao garu (for liberalizing the economy), to Google (For GPS, Maps), Venture Capitalists (For funding innovative cabs ideas).

Free Market economy and Technology can provide solutions to most ills/break monopolies.

[hserus]

My dear chap, what makes you think call taxi drivers are any better than auto drivers? That poor girl who got raped in delhi and led to Uber etc being banned there was hardly using an auto. Except for a few vendors who own their taxis the rest of the franchise outfits try to say only the driver is liable for any issues you face