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Old 7th April 2016, 01:56   #526
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An interesting article published in Harvard Business Review on The Truth About How Uber’s App Manages Drivers

https://hbr.org/2016/04/the-truth-ab...anages-drivers

Last edited by GTO : 8th April 2016 at 11:19. Reason: Fixed URL
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Old 7th April 2016, 10:54   #527
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Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc.

on account of a medical issue, i havent been driving for the last couple of months. Used Ola/Uber instead. These cabs are so convenient and cost effective, that I have parted with my car and am in no hurry to buy another car anytime soon! Also, no hassles of drinking and driving.
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Old 7th April 2016, 11:34   #528
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Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc.

Karnataka makes the first move in putting a cap on how much the cab aggregators can actually charge you for a ride. AC cabs have a max cap of 19.5rs per km now. Hope they don't find a way to work around these now. While 90% of my cab rides have been smooth and hassle free,the only time I had a problem with surge pricing was I ended up paying 540 rupees for a 6km ride one day at 2am!! Horror stories like that shouldn't happen anymore if these rules are implemented strictly.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/51721217.cms
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Old 7th April 2016, 14:31   #529
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Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shreyascashyap View Post
Karnataka makes the first move in putting a cap on how much the cab aggregators can actually charge you for a ride. AC cabs have a max cap of 19.5rs per km now. Hope they don't find a way to work around these now. While 90% of my cab rides have been smooth and hassle free,the only time I had a problem with surge pricing was I ended up paying 540 rupees for a 6km ride one day at 2am!! Horror stories like that shouldn't happen anymore if these rules are implemented strictly.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/51721217.cms
Oh goodness, and this will spell doom for the "Taxi at tap of finger" business.
Soon all govt's across the states will impose this populist measure.

Ever wonder if fixed regulated fares were so profitable for everyone (aggregator AND driver AND passengers), why didn't we have so many taxis earlier??

And I think I have already mentioned this earlier on this thread: if you are so miffed with dynamic pricing aspect, why don't you book Merus and other cab companies? Ever checked their availability?
Does anyone here understand the concept of scarcity?

Last edited by alpha1 : 7th April 2016 at 14:34.
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Old 7th April 2016, 14:38   #530
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Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shreyascashyap View Post
Karnataka makes the first move in putting a cap on how much the cab aggregators can actually charge you for a ride. AC cabs have a max cap of 19.5rs per km now. Hope they don't find a way to work around these now. While 90% of my cab rides have been smooth and hassle free,the only time I had a problem with surge pricing was I ended up paying 540 rupees for a 6km ride one day at 2am!! Horror stories like that shouldn't happen anymore if these rules are implemented strictly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by alpha1 View Post
Oh goodness, and this will spell doom for the "Taxi at tap of finger" business.
Soon all govt's across the states will impose this populist measure.
When they are so quick to 'cap' the max fare, why don't they ensure the Autos/Taxis stick to charging by the meter? That simple move IMO can reduce the demand for hailing a app based cab. But as usual, legislation will not be enforced, cab companies will add a new "convenience" fee to your booking and charge you only Rs.10/kms max! .. and the cycle continues.
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Old 1st May 2016, 21:00   #531
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In Chennai when the ride is booked, the auto driver does not turn up and his mobile is switched off. Also unable to cancel the ride as it was showing as Scheduled which means the driver has started the ride without picking up the passenger who booked the ride. After 30 mins Ola money is being debited for which a ride was not taken up.

Shame on you Ola for cheating the public and unable to rein in auto drivers.

Complaint ref no.Ticket 4924927
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Old 1st May 2016, 21:36   #532
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Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc.

Since I became a car owner again, my use of cabs and autos has, obviously, diminished. My wife continues to use Ola, both cabs and autos, and have used them again on a couple of days when the car was in for service, or could not be taken out over some setting concrete.

I have never felt scammed once. I would ranks as slightly tricky, the couple of times where a different auto has turned up to that which was informed. None of them have taken long routes to increase the meter, and only one complained about the rough road on one of my traffic-avoidance routes. It has been a good experience.

The other day, an Ola auto driver "finished" the journey on the app when we were only about 2/3rds of the way to the destination. He still charged by the meter, so there was no loss to me, but I wondered if this gave him some benefit with the company. I am sure there are scams in existence. i read somewhere that, where cabs drivers for such companies have a minimum number of journeys that they must complete, they simply [pay themselves to do journeys for which there is no customer.

couswheels, sorry to hear of your experience. I'm sure stuff goes on like that. The person whose recommendation got me using Ola also told me that their customer service is very responsive.

In a situation like the one you describe, though, even a quick resolution would have taken time, and when people call cabs, sometimes we don't have time.

Ola's by-the-meter rates, even after having added the 10Rs service charge and maybe Rs20 unasked for extra are still way below the unmetered rates charged by auto drivers even those known to us. In fact, I have been telling my wife for years that, because she always uses the same drivers, she never finds out what other people charge for the same trip, and is paying too much all the time! Ha... she has spent most of her life in this city, but I was right

Last edited by Thad E Ginathom : 1st May 2016 at 21:40.
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Old 1st May 2016, 22:16   #533
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Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc.

Had a very bad experience with the surge pricing of Ola. Today, booked a Ola Mini for a 4km distance. Surge pricing of 2.4x was applied! Was in a hurry so decided to pay. In return of the surge pricing, got a battered Tata Indigo.

While finishing the distance, I was shocked at the bill amount. Usually, it is Rs 110 but today it was Rs 287! That is more than the double pricing. That too for a rattling Indigo. Driver too got shocked at the fare. Ola should keep a cap of surge pricing. Upto 1.5x is okay according to me, but anything above that is too much. And, this surge pricing is there 24x7 which shouldn't be the case.

Luckily, didn't have any issues while returning. Booked Ola Prime since it was without surge pricing & it costed me only Rs 118 for the same distance in the comfy Toyota Innova! Unfair tactics by Ola. Ola Micro is doing lot of business due to their 'Rs 6 per km' offer. But, people are unable to understand that due to surge pricing, it can go very well upto Rs 15-20 per km. Hopefully, something is done about this all over India.
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Old 2nd May 2016, 08:25   #534
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Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc.

OLA Micro seems like a scam to me. Apart from some lean hours, the fare is never without surge. From the past two days it has been surged to 1.6 times which makes the fare almost equivalent to the Mini. And when I booked it over the weekend, I got sedans instead of their advertised small cars. Hence, it is just a lucracious ditch for people to fall in thinking that the rates are less. Uber Go is a cheaper option and these days its surged occassionally and not continuously.
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Old 2nd May 2016, 11:15   #535
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Guys I need to get from the bangalore international airport to Indiranagar at mid night tonight... Is cab my only option? Which one? Prices?
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Old 2nd May 2016, 12:01   #536
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Liner View Post
Guys I need to get from the bangalore international airport to Indiranagar at mid night tonight... Is cab my only option? Which one? Prices?
I always use Uber, no issues so far. But please make sure you plan atleast 2 hours in advance, not to get into any nasty surprises!
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Old 2nd May 2016, 12:48   #537
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Biggest difference between ola and uber prices is service tax. Uber charges 8rs/km plus base fare plus per minute charges in mumbai inclusive of service tax. But ola charges 6rs/km plus base fare plus per minute charges exclusive of tax. When compared to Uber the ride gets expensive after adding the tax. Almost 15% difference straight forward.
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Old 2nd May 2016, 13:11   #538
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Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Liner View Post
Guys I need to get from the bangalore international airport to Indiranagar at mid night tonight... Is cab my only option? Which one? Prices?
Use: Mega Cabs, KSTDC Cabs, Meru Cabs.
Reason: Fixed fare/km, Available On Spot, No Tactics.

Avoid: OLA / Uber / TFS
Reason: Zero Mobile network at airport (difficult to book), Surge Pricing (Ofcourse at midnight, ride from airport mostly have illogical surcharges)
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Old 2nd May 2016, 15:16   #539
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Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc.

I was reading (quora) that these companies have put some drivers in a different income bracket, often earning more than the "professionals" that they are ferrying back and forth. I wish the well, and hope very much that ending predatory pricing, which must come, does not simply dump on the drivers.

Reported conversation wife/Ola-auto yesterday, has it that Ola were paying a subsidy to the auto drivers for each trip, which gradually reduced, and now the drivers are paying Ola.

However, another auto driver, who is actually a friend of ours, told that he was (he has been through some misfortune with a month off sick and losing the Ola phone, which he now has to pay to replace, hence the past tense) able to earn Rs1,000 a day due to very much less time standing idle or driving without a passenger.

I suppose that the auto drivers (unlike Chennai cab drivers who cannot be hailed on the street) have the best of both worlds: they are free to pick up a non-ola passenger and charge the "usual" Chennai non-metered rates when it suits them and they have the chamce.
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Old 2nd May 2016, 16:06   #540
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Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc.

I used Uber for 45 KM (inside city) travel, receipt show some additional surcharges + toll charge for driver's return journey. Is it correct? Am I missing something?

Here is the break up -

Base Fare - 35
Distance ch - 315
Time ch - 65
Distance Surcharge - 210

Toll charge for driver's return journey? 155
(toll charge for onward travel was paid by me)

Total - 785

Last edited by Latheesh : 2nd May 2016 at 16:28.
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