[naveenroy]

Surely many of you would have experienced this but for me it was a first. Booked a cab on Uber and the cab driver calls me to tell me that he has arrived at the destination. I waste time looking at all the cabs and only see a Ola cab. Call the number and this Ola guy picks up! Why I say Ola? - because it had the Ola sticker prominently on the side of the car. Do these cab companies allow the driver to drive for another company too?

[Chetan_Rao]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

.....Do these cab companies allow the driver to drive for another company too?

It's very common, and nothing to do with the aggregator at all because most of them work on a presence model (login if/when you want to) and don't insist on 'monogamy'.

A lot of drivers work for multiple aggregators, logged in simultaneously sometimes. I've even met regular corporate cabbies that service Uber/Ola rides on weekends to earn extra money.

[AkMar]

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

I vaguely remember destination being optional in the past (used it myself), but not anymore.

Attachment 1517821

At least on the iOS app the destination is still not mandatory here in Mumbai. May be it is different in your location or on Android.

[shreyascashyap]

While the advent of these cabs have definitely helped a lot of the drivers, I have noticed an alarming number of drivers putting in 15+ hours of driving per day. Sitting in an AC office for 15 hours and driving a car in bangalore traffic for 15 hours are totally different ball games.

While I'm glad no one else was injured, my thoughts do go out to the poor driver who passed away while on duty.

While the RTO does conduct "medical checks" before issuing the license, the less said of it, the better.


http://www.bangaloremirror.com/banga...w/52753933.cms

[msdivy]

Strange incident today morning. My dad had to catch early morning flight. So yesterday, he had booked Ola Mini at 3:40 AM with 'Ride Later' option. He got the driver details at 3:30 via SMS. When he called up the driver, the driver said he is already driving and can't pick him up. Minutes later he got message with charge for Rs 80 to be paid to driver, which is minimum for mini. The ride was not on Ola Money and hence he did not lose any money.

He immediately booked Ola Micro (Ride Now option) and was able to get a ride to airport. So be careful about Ola Money.

[A M]

Has happened twice with me now. Once on OLA and once on Uber.

I booked a ride for the airport, the driver calls me after 5 mins and tells he is cancelling the tour as he doesn't want to go towards the airport and I was charged fine as the trip got cancelled after 5 mins of booking.

Was paying by cash both times but the charges were added to the next bill and had to pay the amount to the other driver.

[nareshov]

Originally Posted by AkMar

At least on the iOS app the destination is still not mandatory here in Mumbai. May be it is different in your location or on Android.

It is mandatory on my iOS app in Bangalore. Probably is location dependant.

[shankar.balan]

Over the last 3 weeks I ve been using Uber quite regularly in Australia, Dubai and back in India too.
No worries anywhere.
Excellent cabs. Clean and nice. Good, polite drivers.
Just perfect in my book.

I do not agree with our stupid local government and its stance on Surge Pricing. Surge Pricing is a function of demand. And any service which is a good service will automatically start enjoying good demand.

Just because the stupid government has to please all its vote banks and indulge in populist schemes, why do they have to spoil someone's business.

In Bangalore one cannot trust most autos - they all over charge consumers. There is no regulation. They can make you stand in the hot sun while declining to come for a journey. Going to a local Auto Stand is like going to stand in front of a Goonda's convention!

Taxi Services like Meru and so on are often mediocre, smelly, ill maintained and not a pleasure to use.

Uber changed a lot of this. So did OLA though I frankly don't like OLA as much. I vastly prefer Uber. In my book they're more Premium and I get to use them anywhere in the World pretty much, so their app automatically becomes my preferred app. Habit forming on account of extreme convenience.

Basically when the Taxi Cartels and Auto Cartels here in Bangalore, have prevailed upon the Government to curb the demand led pricing of the Uber type companies, they have condemned the consumer to mediocrity for ever more with no recourse to a Premium Service, despite the consumer's willingness to pay for it in the first place!

That's saddening for the consumer and for the spirit of free enterprise too.
Let the consumer decide what he/ she wants to pay for a service. After all, there are alternatives available!

[Mistakenguy]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Over the last 3 weeks I ve been using Uber quite regularly in Australia, Dubai and back in India too.
No worries anywhere.

Just a doubt on using the app in multiple countries. In case the driver has to call you up, wouldn't they be contacting on the international number ?

Travelling to Singapore next week and I intend to use Uber quite a bit.

TIA.

[zzzehar]

Originally Posted by Mistakenguy

Just a doubt on using the app in multiple countries. In case the driver has to call you up, wouldn't they be contacting on the international number ?

Travelling to Singapore next week and I intend to use Uber quite a bit.

TIA.

You probably won't need Uber in Singapore. The cabs are easily available and can be flagged down. The drivers are well versed with addresses and it doesn't cost much either. The blue colored Hyundai Sonata Embera is the entry level cab and there are quite a few of them everywhere you go in Singapore.

[zzzehar]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Strange incident today morning. My dad had to catch early morning flight. So yesterday, he had booked Ola Mini at 3:40 AM with 'Ride Later' option. He got the driver details at 3:30 via SMS. When he called up the driver, the driver said he is already driving and can't pick him up. Minutes later he got message with charge for Rs 80 to be paid to driver, which is minimum for mini. The ride was not on Ola Money and hence he did not lose any money.

He immediately booked Ola Micro (Ride Now option) and was able to get a ride to airport. So be careful about Ola Money.

Be very careful with Ola when your Ola Money wallet is topped up. The last time I arrived at Chennai airport, three different drivers who accepted the request through app (surprisingly the app let's you book multiple cabs) charged my account through Ola Money without even picking me up. I had to escalate to Ola to get the refund. The first two drivers didn't reach me in the stipulated time but they started the trip on the app with no way for me to cancel it.

It is better to pay with cash than Ola Money unless of course you are booking for someone else and you wish to pay for them.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I do not agree with our stupid local government and its stance on Surge Pricing. Surge Pricing is a function of demand. And any service which is a good service will automatically start enjoying good demand.

I haven't used their service recently but I heard from friends that the surge pricing is back and working just like before in NCR even though the government had issues its illogical Diktat.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Mistakenguy

Just a doubt on using the app in multiple countries. In case the driver has to call you up, wouldn't they be contacting on the international number ?

Travelling to Singapore next week and I intend to use Uber quite a bit.

TIA.

Yes.

But it works perfectly most places across the World. I ve used the Uber services extensively in America, parts of Scandinavia and Singapore, Jakarta and KL etc, apart from the other countries like UAE, Australia, Philippines etc.

Im usually on Int. Roaming so either I call the guy or he calls if need be. Sometimes they just message via text. But mostly, since the "mapping" and "location services" in Foreign countries are quite accurate, it is not difficult for the Uber driver to find you.

It isn't all that difficult these days being able to do International calls.
Not like how it was say, some 10-15 years ago when you would hesitate to even switch on your phone while travelling outside.

Most of the Big Mobile companies like Vodafone and Airtel offer some very decent packages which help control your costs. All we need to do is to be selective in switching on the mobile data specifically for Uber and the like and as far as possible use Wi Fi for FB updates, email downloads and all that. Notifications can of course, be turned off so that they don't eat into data usage.

Frankly these packages are far better than even the much touted Matrix etc.

Indeed, some years back I noticed Matrix ends up being much more expensive and there is no guarantee that Data will work properly.

Hence I completely stopped taking Matrix cards.

There is nothing quite as convenient as having your own number work for you world wide.

Luckily the costs are getting more and more democratised all the time so it is good for the consumer.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by Mistakenguy

Travelling to Singapore next week and I intend to use Uber quite a bit.

Is there any price advantage to Ola in Singapore? Everything there is so tightly controlled.

Off-topic, but once you try the Metro in SIngapore your desire to use cabs may evaporate, unless you are doing a long or late trip

[rejeen]

+1 to that. Metro is well connected. Also use one of the tourist metro cards or the regular top up cards if staying for 3 or more days. It'll come out to be cheap and convenient.

These cards can be used in buses also.