[deehunk]

Originally Posted by FrozeninTime

A
I am tired of this crap called Ola. These companies are running away from responsibility to commuter. Had this been US the driver would be in Jail and Ola would have been sued by me. But this being India one has to keep quiet. My only question to Ola is - Are you hiring Goonda disguised as drivers? This is happening to woman in another so called safe city. Really pathetic!


P.S - I have no vested interest to defame Ola but the accountability is lacking which worries me. I have asked my parents to hire a proper cab next time than use their services. No point in calling customer care as they did nothing when I complained last time in July

The police verification is fake, the action taken against the drivers by Ola/Uber is fake, people who travel daily in these cabs know the reality. Ola is a failed startup atleast in Bangalore due to lack of understanding the basics of taxi operations. Ola has again started charging peak time charges, now Prime becomes cheaper than Mini. Today my cab driver was saying that he is getting more duties for Prime since 1 week. Customers no longer recharge their Ola account for higher denominations, they recharge as and when required, this is killing some of their profit margins. The drivers are now faking Ola Rentals and resting during peak hours.

[auto_enthusiast]

Originally Posted by deehunk

The drivers are now faking Ola Rentals and resting during peak hours.

Bt what will they gain by faking ola rentals? I mean they won't earn any revenue and will be idle during peak hours as well.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by deehunk

The police verification is fake, the action taken against the drivers by Ola/Uber is fake, people who travel daily in these cabs know the reality. Ola is a failed startup atleast in Bangalore due to lack of understanding the basics of taxi operations.The drivers are now faking Ola Rentals and resting during peak hours.

I have always been feeling a difference in the quality of service of Ola v/s Uber. I had stopped Ola more than a year back after I used to get rickety Indicas with drivers who looked like they hadnt taken a shower from days. However, with Uber, with more than 100 rides till now, I have hardly faced a few incidents of old car and badly groomed driver. In fact, my first few rides with Uber were a surprise seeing the drivers neatly dressed with clean cars and with a good body language. Now that this has diluted a bit, I still find Uber drivers better in all aspects.

The only thing working towards Ola in the initial days which did not work for Uber was cash payments. Not everyone were willing to switch to the online payment modes like Paytm and Cards. That has held until now. Many of my friends or colleagues had no idea that Uber was cheap and the only thing they knew was Ola accepted cash while Uber did not.

I am curious to know how these drivers are selected into Ola and Uber and if there are any differences in the selection criteria.

[AutoNoob]

Uber app sees biggest change since 2012 --> Link to full article

Uber on Wednesday began rolling out an overhauled smartphone application that uses artificial intelligence in a bid to speed up and improve the ride-sharing experience.

The update is the first major overhaul for the popular application since 2012 and aims to simplify usage for a service that has added new travel options such as uberPool to share rides among several travelers.

"We rebuilt a faster, smarter rider app completely from the ground up," Uber product manager Yuhki Yamashita said in a blog post.

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by auto_enthusiast

Bt what will they gain by faking ola rentals? I mean they won't earn any revenue and will be idle during peak hours as well.

The modus of operandi of fake drivers works like this,

1. Drivers take advantage of the non-standard method for paying incentives
   
2. Fake drivers do not drive more than 100-120km per day, this saves them fuel cost
   
3. They spend about Rs.500 per day for fuel unlike honest drivers
   
4. They fake trips to places where there is a demand for share tips
   
5. They try to do 4 genuine trips in the peak hour (day and evening), this gets them incentives and cover fuel expenses
   
6. They won't accept trips if you are paying by Ola Money after peak hours
   
7. Then they make a fake rental booking for 4/8 hours as per their needs, this gets them a certain minimum amount
   
8. Ola rental does not call for a mandatory 40/80Km ride, imagine drivers driving 20-30km
   
9. The last 2-3 trips towards the end are fake, such trips are within 4-5 km
   
10. They know how to get last 4 digits of CRN number, a customer will complain only if he uses Ola money, Else?
    
11. Short distance trips ensure minimum commission to Ola, this way they target maximum incentives possible

If someone from Uber/Ola conduct a surprise check at the hot spots of fake bookings, they can see to what extent the drivers are involved in fake trip business. Ola and Uber have taken lot of measures to stop this menace but still there are loop holes in the AI system. This is the reason why you saw "paytm" becoming an alternate option to pay by cash, but unless the option to pay by cash is not controlled the drivers will continue to bleed Uber and Ola.

[drsingh]

This thread is a fantastic read on the power of incentives , the behaviour of all stakeholders involved , and the evolution of a business without government manipulation.(although government imposes taxes on fuel and car ownership)

And it is also a primer for people who think things should 'just work' . But these companies are also creating demand for better services.I clearly see a demand for next gen lawyers who can get things done in a hurry in case of accidents /emergencies. I see a demand for massive overhaul of our laws assigning responsibility.


If our Judiciary,law makers, law enforcement would just introduce processes with the incentive structure in mind things would be much smoother and we wouldn't have to rely on God,goodwill,sifarish,baksheesh so much .

There is obviously opportunity all around to get this country working on market principles. But for that to work everyone needs to be aware of their rights and responsibilities in the system.

I wish the legal system would do something about insurance liabilities and handling of emergency payments.The health insurance sector (government and private) have come out with cashless cards. That is the way to go. If an accident has occurred on the road and the drivers are not liable ,it is clear as day that the insurance company is liable.It should be an automated process that as soon FIR is registered, the payment comes through .

Only when insurance companies are held properly liable , will they begin to hold the government,untrained drivers,unkempt infrastructure accountable. That is the only way to introduce discipline .If all stakeholders have the right incentives to hold each other accountable.

[mustang_shelby]

I am also noticing that drivers are trying to avoid taking trips if there is traffic. Yesterday, my wife booked an OLA cab around 11:30 am and the driver called after a few min to say he won't show up because of traffic. She booked a second one and the same result with the second one too.
I am also hearing from friends/relatives that the cab drivers start complaining about wasted time the moment there are traffic jams. What good is a taxi service if the drivers want to ply on empty roads only?
While optimistic case studies are being made about the financial benefits of using Ola/Uber cabs instead of personal car ownership and how that leads to reduced congestion, its useless until the service is reliable and you are guaranteed that you will be able to get a clean, well maintained cab with a well-behaved driver when you want and where you want.

[FanaticOnWheels]

Originally Posted by AutoNoob

Uber app sees biggest change since 2012 --> Link to full article

The new app seems to have been pushed for the iPhone. I got my hands on it today.

Some initial impressions:

1. UI is a lot cleaner and simple.
2. The flow has been changed now. First, the app asks you for your destination, basis which it shows you the ETA of the cabs, and the fare. It even shows the earliest & latest time of arrival for uberPOOL rides.
3. Your favourite locations (seems to be pulled from the last 3 rides) appear on the home screen, right at the bottom
4. If your contacts are synced with the app, you can request your friends you share their location through the app, and that will be fed into the destination field for the cab to take you there. (This is hasn't been rolled out yet, though)
5. Cabs are now given a nice 3D touch

Overall, seems like a good step forward!

[Sawyer]

A quote from R Bhargava, Maruti Suzuki that is interesting:
Asked about the impact of taxi aggregators like Ola and Uber on the automobile manufacturers, Bhargava said they were good for the industry.
"The reason is they bring much greater efficiency into the ability of people to use cars for transportation, the cars are used much more intensively and efficiently and there is much less of empty running, all of which lead to greater efficiency," he added.
In future, these types of companies will become large purchasers of cars, he added.

Moreover, as cars of aggregators are used optimally and therefore, the replacement cycle is faster and so it is better for the industry, Bhargava explained.

I doubt that he is right about the net impact from the last bit: cars of aggregators will be used optimally only if private car use is reduced, and if that happens, drop in private car purchase will follow in time. That is the logical consequence of what he also talks about earlier, about greater efficiency and a more intense use of the car instead of it lying in parked condition for over 80% of its life time when in private hands.

I for one can't wait for this revolution to be complete. It seems to be the only way to eliminate, or at least reduce in India the parking problem, and the one of a single person in a car hogging road space that is so expensive to develop that it is socially a crime to drive a car in that manner.

In the West, and specifically in Europe, efficient public transport infrastructure does this, but I haven't the hope of any government delivered solution to be fast enough to save us. This revolution seems to be the one with the highest chances of success in that direction.

Exactly like how private mobile telephony in India has delivered in one decade what public fixed phone line infrastructure dismally failed to do for six.

PS: On the social crime thing: In Europe/England, single people driving large SUVs are looked at on the road like pariahs for not being civic minded citizens and many are shamed into not doing this. Completely different from how things are here.

[shankar.balan]

Social Crime. Thats an interesting phrase.
You've described the public shaming and virtual 'tarring and feathering' the single, large SUV drivers in EU and UK.
That may well be, because for the most part, people there have a 'Social Conscience'.

In India, sadly, there is none such at this point in time.

We in India are still rampaging along the upward curve of the 'Consumption cycle' - more is better, bigger is better and 'expensive' is great!

Whereas the West (particularly the Northern European nations) have already passed the 'apex' point and are now descending on the other side, which makes a virtue out of frugality and demonizes conspicuous consumption etc.

China is roughly in the same stage as we are in. And thats exactly why all the manufacturers are rushing in here to occupy space, share of mind and share of wallet while the going is good!
A new form of 'consumer greed fuelled' economic imperialism is what we are experiencing right now!

[Sawyer]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

A new form of 'consumer greed fuelled' economic imperialism is what we are experiencing right now!

But because of our population, the environmental impact of this will be far far worse than what any country in the West faced at any time in their cycle; example, Delhi at this time.

Or even Pune, where in winter there is more smog than fog now.

Or even the huge garbage disposal problem that is the direct consequence of this mad rush to consume - a big and visible problem in Pune for sure and in every other Indian city as well, I am willing to bet.

[balajisv]

Getting back to the topic!

Have a look at this post sourced from FB. Hats off to the Ola driver.
His understanding of the current situation and 'service' to his customer is worth a praise!!



Translation courtesy @hserus -

"Sir, never mind if you have a few rupees less than the fare, that is ok please give me what you have. We all have to respect the government's move and bear some hardship. Please consider this discount as my contribution to the country and go catch your train without worries."

[Dry Ice]

Took Uber rides today, did not take out the car. Drivers were cribbing how everyone is paying by PayTM and they are not able to withdraw from the ATMs. Probably the first time I have heard them rant. Guess everybody has been inconvenienced someway or the other.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by balajisv

"Sir, never mind if you have a few rupees less than the fare, that is ok please give me what you have. We all have to respect the government's move and bear some hardship. Please consider this discount as my contribution to the country and go catch your train without worries."

The phrases are so tailormade for a whatsapp forward that I wonder if the Ola driver dude actually exists or is a figment of the imagination of the original guy who spread that meme.

By the time a meme has become some dialogue in a jpeg / gif and gets shared around .. you begin to wonder whether the original text in the meme was true or a creation of some social media expert in a PR cell.

[ethanhunt123]

So looks like Uber is shutting down Uber Commute in Bangalore. I have been driving on Commute for last 2 months - and today i get a email that they are closing the Commute "Pilot" in Bangalore today. Legal issues ? Personally i thought it was a great thing - carpooling never worked for me due to flexibility issues but Commute was perfect.