[subraiyr]

Originally Posted by alpha1

subraiyr, what would you prefer:
No taxi (but fixed rate) OR taxi at surge price?

Between the devil and the deep sea ? i think its time i pack my bags and move on

But then again, at peak times there are only so many number of cabs available irrespective of what is charged. So why peak charges which are beyond peaks - to me its peak charge + surge charges.

[Fillmore]

These days Uber surge rates do touch 4x - 5x.
The cabs would be idling around but would stick to the surge pricing.

I think its time we start rating them 2 stars whenever we are forced to pay surge pricing.
the App has a field where you can enter the justification for the low rating.

[libranof1987]

I'd taken a couple of Uber rides yesterday; one of them being in a Ritz. I remarked to the driver about how it was the first time I was in a Uber-Ritz and he tells me, it actually makes a lot of sense financially since they get as much as 70k off on Ritz if they produce a letter from Uber.

Apparently, Dzire, Dzire Tour, Indica and Ritz all get those benefits for the Uber connection.

All cars, apart from Ritz, I expected since their respective manufacturers actively promote the taxi variants. Wonder if the discount on Ritz is at a dealer or Maruti level.

All in all, these discounts bode well for these taxi services; better (newer) cars on offer.

[narayan]

I've generally had a good experience with Uber and ola. Recently booked a TFS. The driver cancelled the trip after calling me but strangely he had run 3 kms and then closed the trip and I was charged. The Ola app, although allows you to book on TFS but never shows the TFS trip in your history. I wrote to the TFS crm id but no response for over a week. Then I marked the Ola id as well and sent another email. Finally got a response that they've registered a complaint. Let's see what happens. Uber service is in general better. They normally reverse any erroneous debit with no questions asked first. They probably have a better control over the drivers.

[drmohitg]

The surge pricing makes Uber a " non dependable " mode of transport for me. I had recently started using them exclusively for airport trips. But last time I landed in Delhi at 10 30 pm in the night and their surge pricing was showing more than 3x rates resulting in an estimated cost of rs 1000 for a trip that has always costed me not more than 300 rs even in peak traffic. Financially it doesn't make any sense then and next time onwards I would rather call the car from home on which the whole trip ( including both ways) will hardly cost me 200 rs.

[WorkingGuru]

AFAIK, post the 2x surge, pricing just directly goes 3x, 4x or 5x!

IMHO, the surge pricing should go up in multiples of 0.2x, .3x, .5x, .7x etc. between every surge right from 1x , 2x, 3x.

Since the pricing is prolly digitally generated based on availability of cabs, this should be very much possible. Not only will it assure us that the surge is more genuine, but also control cabbies who stay offline 10 minutes before they know the surge will start (Example : Movie ending time etc).

Rest said, even generally IMO the advent of these cabs has pinched many. The dependence for auto ricks from decently well to do educated customers has sharply declined & it not only thought rude auto fellows a lesson, but even gave a chance for the good ones to be valued for their good service.

I don't believe bad rating is deserved unless it's a very bad experience. The low ratings apparently hurt them pretty bad, with very little to NO scope for appeal incase they're penalised.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by WorkingGuru

AFAIK, post the 2x surge, pricing just directly goes 3x, 4x or 5x!

IMHO, the surge pricing should go up in multiples of 0.2x, .3x, .5x, .7x etc. between every surge right from 1x , 2x, 3x.

It actually does climb .1x , .2x and so on and not necessarily directly jumps by 1.

[m.shekhar]

Guys, can anyone recommend a reliable cab service in Bhopal.

Uber doesn't seem to be available there, while Ola is. The issue is I've noticed a scarcity of cabs from these services in smaller cities. Most of the cabbies are either near the airport or the station while in other parts there are no cabs.

I need a cab from Shyamla Hills to the ISBT Habibganj to be specific.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by subraiyr

Between the devil and the deep sea ? i think its time i pack my bags and move on

But then again, at peak times there are only so many number of cabs available irrespective of what is charged. So why peak charges which are beyond peaks - to me its peak charge + surge charges.

Hahaha.
The point is that in scarcity it is better to have things for higher price than to be absolutely devoid of it.

Now regarding the surge price mechanism, I am surprised if you were able to consistently see large number of cabs continuously. As far as I remember the surge pricing is done by comparing the RATE of bookings per minute vs RATE of new cab availability per minute.

So for example, even if you could see 10 cabs, but with surge prices, I am sure that in the past few minutes there would have been 20 people making their bookings in your area.

Think of it as if you are competing with other people interested in booking cabs - just like an auction. The cabs are limited but the passengers are more.

[varmax]

Originally Posted by alpha1

Hahaha.
Now regarding the surge price mechanism, I am surprised if you were able to consistently see large number of cabs continuously. As far as I remember the surge pricing is done by comparing the RATE of bookings per minute vs RATE of new cab availability per minute.

I agree with you about the mechanism of surge pricing. The surge will also attract more drivers to concentrate on the area so we will see more cars available. I feel that surge pricing is a good deal and will definitely help when you really need a cab.

I have read an article on the analytics used by Uber to set up the surge pricing and their technology is absolutely top tier. I believe they also look at other demand indicators like concerts,sports,weekends etc and start their surge before and after the event to cater for the heavy loads. In the future they will surely get to the granular level of data analytics to time even small events like the start and end time of a new blockbuster movie or the closing times of pubs in any popular area etc to time their surge pricing.

[Equus]

I have all 3 major apps (Uber, Ola and Meru). When surge is on (especially for airport trips), best to opt for Meru. They usually are around (I stay in Koramangala) and i am in a taxi within 15 mins.

Surge concept is very critical for the overall function. Cabs are directed to the surge area to fulfill the demand. So you are ALWAYS near a cab.
Imagine someone needing a cab to go to a hospital and there are none?

It would be silly to give a bad rating, just based on surge. Its all automatically handled by the APP SW and purely depends on the cabs serviced in the last few mins in any given area.

[Gansan]

The moment the surge price touches Rs 12 per km or thereabouts, the app cab loses the edge vs the conventional call taxi and we might as well hail one instead.

[jetti]

There was a strike by Uber Drivers in Hyderabad last week:
Uber rich drivers find taxi business is less luring
This article covers some of the promises made by these companies, the resulting decisions of people entering this business and the fading of the euphoria and not being able to pay the EMIs. The strike was triggered by the suicide of an Uber driver.

The association (Telangana State Cabs and Bus Operators Association) made four major demands. They include inquiry into the suicide of Zaheeruddin, adequate compensation to his family, inquiry into the allegations of cheating against Uber and Ola managements and formation of rules and regulations for aggregators and a mechanism to protect the interest of nearly 50,000 drivers working in the Greater Hyderabad limits.

[DCEite]

Does Meru cab have in-the-taxi credit card machine for accepting trip payment in Mumbai ?

[salilpawar1]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

I'd taken a couple of Uber rides yesterday; one of them being in a Ritz. I remarked to the driver about how it was the first time I was in a Uber-Ritz and he tells me, it actually makes a lot of sense financially since they get as much as 70k off on Ritz if they produce a letter from Uber.

Apparently, Dzire, Dzire Tour, Indica and Ritz all get those benefits for the Uber connection.

All cars, apart from Ritz, I expected since their respective manufacturers actively promote the taxi variants. Wonder if the discount on Ritz is at a dealer or Maruti level.

All in all, these discounts bode well for these taxi services; better (newer) cars on offer.

The high discounts are there because Ritz is out of production. Pure stock clearance!