[Shreyas Aterkar]

Originally Posted by boniver

The driver must have entered Shreyas' number in the Ola App to log into his account. The Ola app sent the OTP to Shreyas and he shared it with the driver, who was able to get access to his account, change his password/phone number and use the money in Ola Wallet.

This is not the trip-starting OTP that Ola normally sends. I'm guessing it would've been difficult for anyone to distinguish between the two when one's preoccupied with getting into the cab.

+1. Thats what happened, I was preoccupied with office work and didnt even think that Ola driver would commit such a fraud

[Thad E Ginathom]

I can never understand why people commit petty, short-sighted offences. OK, maybe if starving and no next meal... but what benefit to a driver could stealing a customer's account be except maybe an immediate few rupees.

[Ithaca]

Two part articles in the NY Times about suicides by medallion taxi drivers in New York.
The drivers took huge loans to buy these medallions but aren't earning enough to pay their loans.
The article partly blames the app based taxi services too but also blames the greed of the medallion sellers, the ignorance of the buyers and the bankers who are holding the loans.

Over the past year, a spate of suicides by taxi drivers in New York City has highlighted in brutal terms the overwhelming debt and financial plight of medallion owners. All along, officials have blamed the crisis on competition from ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft.

But a New York Times investigation found much of the devastation can be traced to a handful of powerful industry leaders who steadily and artificially drove up the price of taxi medallions, creating a bubble that eventually burst. Over more than a decade, they channeled thousands of drivers into reckless loans and extracted hundreds of millions of dollars before the market collapsed.

These business practices generated huge profits for bankers, brokers, lawyers, investors, fleet owners and debt collectors. The leaders of nonprofit credit unions became multimillionaires. Medallion brokers grew rich enough to buy yachts and waterfront properties. One of the most successful bankers hired the rap star Nicki Minaj to perform at a family party.

Source: NY Times Part 1

Source: NY Times Part 2

[Ithaca]

M&M to acquire 55% stake in Meru Travel for about Rs 201.5cr in all-cash deal

As per below linked Moneycontrol article, M&M will acquire 55% of Meru

Homegrown utility vehicles major Mahindra & Mahindra is acquiring 55 percent stake in ride hailing and radio taxi operator Meru Travel Solutions for a cash consideration of up to Rs 201.5 crore, according to a regulatory filing by the company.

Source: Money Control Article

Win-win for Mahindra. Older stock can be incorporated into the taxi fleet. It also revives a previously dominant call taxi brand.
Good for consumers since as of now, Meru does not do surge pricing - at least in Mumbai.

[ishan12]

At first I thought it was one of those stupid news/ faking news articles ment as as joke, but this is real

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w/71211891.cms

@Mods - Please move/ remove the post if it does not belong here or is inappropriate.

[kiku007]

I used Uber in Chennai during my trip and I was shocked at the condition of the Uber cabs.

I've used Uber from the time they launched in Chennai with fancy Mercedes cars. Later they moved to more practical/viable options like Innova, Etios etc. The cars were excellently maintained and the drivers were so much more courteous than the regular cabs. I used Uber even when Ola offered cheaper fares because of the confidence in the car condition and driver courtesy.

But after five years or so, I can see those things degraded. I got a worn-out Maruti Dzire under Uber Premier (Premium?). The poor driver parked the car and spent a couple of minutes to fix the windshield wiper. Then he was sad that I had chosen Credit-card as the payment method. Nevertheless, the driver was courteous and drove without using a mobile phone on his hand. I think the later itself is a big ask in India now.

It costed around Rs.350 (Rs.425 without discounts) for 15 km in the middle of the night with no traffic congestion. Some surcharges were added because of the pick-up point being an Airport I presume.

Uber might as well change their name in India. This is not the Uber I used five years before or the Uber I use in Australia.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Yes, this is the India Uber of today.

[carboy]

Originally Posted by kiku007

It costed around Rs.350 (Rs.425 without discounts) for 15 km in the middle of the night with no traffic congestion. Some surcharges were added because of the pick-up point being an Airport I presume.

How much is the cost of a 15km trip in Australia for Uber Premier? Also cars probably cost much less in Australia as compared to India. Interest on car loans are also lesser in India. There aren't enough people available who would pay enough money for an actual premium ride. As it is, none of these companies make profits.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by carboy

How much is the cost of a 15km trip in Australia for Uber Premier? Also cars probably cost much less in Australia as compared to India. Interest on car loans are also lesser in India. There aren't enough people available who would pay enough money for an actual premium ride. As it is, none of these companies make profits.

Sorry, how does that matter? Earlier Uber India was providing very well maintained cars. They were making losses then and now. So we don't need to teach Uber about maintenance checks and economics. As a customer, I was happy to pay the premium Uber used to charge over Ola. But now at around Rs.25+/km, I feel let down for what's offered.

In their quest for market share, I think they have lowered their service quality. The App is still the best though.

I'm keen to see how the App based Taxi market evolves in the next five years. Remember how the Telecom market exploded with new players and ultra-low costs but in 2019 there's 4 operators and losses in billions? My bet? App-based Taxis will be the Telecom sector disaster in the next decade.

BTW a 15 km trip would cost around $60-$70 in Australia. Visit the following link to know the conditions a car has to meet to be eligible for "Premier" in Australia.

https://www.uber.com/en-AU/drive/bri...a5oKh7OVJQJA#_

[carboy]

Originally Posted by kiku007

Sorry, how does that matter?

If you are comparing differently priced products, then it does matter. It's like complaining that a WagonR doesn't have the features of a Brezza.

Originally Posted by kiku007

BTW a 15 km trip would cost around $60-$70 in Australia.

So you are comparing a 350Rs product with one which costs 10x that. I was wrong about my WagonR-Brezza example - it's more like WagonR-Mercedes.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Could it be that the quality of Uber cars is related to the driver payback?

In the hay day of Ola/Uber India, both customers and drivers were doing well: now, not so much. In fact, apparently, very much not so much. Drivers are not going to bring premium vehicles to Uber if they are not getting premium returns.

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Could it be that the quality of Uber cars is related to the driver payback?

In the hay day of Ola/Uber India, both customers and drivers were doing well: now, not so much. In fact, apparently, very much not so much. Drivers are not going to bring premium vehicles to Uber if they are not getting premium returns.

That must be a contributor for sure. IIRC in the early days, Uber and Ola showered the drivers with bonuses. Something on the lines of Rs.x if they completed y trips/day. Those bonuses aren't offered now.


@Carboy - I've explained in two posts that the quality of Uber cabs has down in India. If you think otherwise, please let me know. Stop trolling by talking about Wagon-R, Breeza and Mercedes.

[harishhm74]

Agree with Kiku007 - another aspect that works in Australia and other countries is that private owners can offer Uber rides - that itself ups the quality of cars in most cases and Uber pick ups via Mercedes/BMWs are not so rare
Edit: my reference was UberX which maps to Uber Premier in INDIA.

[Cessna182]

https://indianexpress.com/article/ex...ators-7072019/

New guidelines about fares, driver benefits, passenger safety have been issued by the government. It would be interesting to see how these companies manage to abide by these regulations.

[Gansan]

What safety precautions the aggregators follow for their cabs? If a Covid positive person hails a cab to go to the hospital for admission, will they know about it and avoid that person? If that person makes the trip to the hospital and later the cab picks up another passenger, how is it safe, even if the cab is disinfected every morning and evening?

The possibility of asymptomatic positive people calling a cab instead of ambulance is real, if they wish to be discreet.