[harishhm74]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

According to it, commercial license is not required for driving taxis as per Supreme courts order in July 2017.

Does it allow private cars to be used like in other countries for Uber/Ola or we still need yellow plate cars?
At least if private cars are allowed I can expect some decently maintained cars to do the pickup! Most of the yellow plate uber/Ola cabs have pathetically maintained cars

[perty]

Today, I had a strange experience with Uber.
Booked a cab around 11:30. The driver was completing a trip nearby and as I tracked
his location, it looked like he was a bit lost in trying to reach my current location.
Didn't call him, as the map can provide better directions for him than I can over phone,
so just waited.

Eventually, it looked like he was about 500m from my place but wasn't moving at all.
The app was still showing 'ETA 2 mins'. Decided to walk up to him and get in.
When I reached what was shown as his purported location on the Uber app, surprise
surprise, there was no cab at all.
However, according to the app, I was standing right beside it.

Wondering what happened. Did the driver cancel the trip and the app waited for me to
get frustrated and cancel from my end also, so that it can pocket the 50rs
cancellation fee for a non existent cab. Or did the driver switch off his mobile and drive
away, confusing the app.

Eventually, the app automatically assigned a new driver to me after 2 hours.
By that time, I had returned from the place I had wanted to go to.
The new driver seemed to be trying to come towards my location so I promptly
cancelled the ride, only to be charged a cancellation fee.
Raised a dispute for it and eventually got it refunded as credit.

[ant_vas]

Look at this response from Uber folks manning their Twitter handle. The sarcasm is completely lost on them

[carboy]

Does Ola do round trips? I want to go from Chembur to a village in Vasai & wait for 3 hours & then come back? How do we book a round trip on Ola or Uber? The app gives options of 1 hour 10 kms, 2 hours 20 kms etc. How much is charged for extra kms? Will Vasai be considered outstation or local?

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by carboy

Does Ola do round trips? I want to go from Chembur to a village in Vasai & wait for 3 hours & then come back? How do we book a round trip on Ola or Uber? The app gives options of 1 hour 10 kms, 2 hours 20 kms etc. How much is charged for extra kms? Will Vasai be considered outstation or local?

Perhaps you should use Savaari cabs

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/mumba...vaari-com.html (Chauffeur-driven Car Rentals : Savaari.com)

[The Great]

This is the other side of the Taxi Revolution.

Uber and Ola taxis parked in 4/5 lanes at Andheri causing a massive traffic jam during their protest cab strike which was in their 8th day today. Not even the police could do anything. Only one or 2 lanes were functional.

The issue is between the taxi cab owners and Uber / Ola but how is this traffic jam justified ?

With so many pro's of these kind of cabs, this one will go down as one of the con's IMO.

Times News

[narayan]

Originally Posted by carboy

Does Ola do round trips? I want to go from Chembur to a village in Vasai & wait for 3 hours & then come back? How do we book a round trip on Ola or Uber? The app gives options of 1 hour 10 kms, 2 hours 20 kms etc. How much is charged for extra kms? Will Vasai be considered outstation or local?

I have tried negotiating with the driver directly in similar occasions - not proper outstation but to the fringes of the city from where the driver also may not get an immediate trip. So I asked him to wait for about 30mins. I came back and paid him the same fare in cash for return trip. He was happy since he doesn't have to pay the commission to the aggregator for that trip.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by narayan

I came back and paid him the same fare in cash for return trip. He was happy since he doesn't have to pay the commission to the aggregator for that trip.

This is something that would happen a lot few years ago when I traveled to smaller cities. I would book cab from Ola, driver would arrive and ask if I can cancel the trip and pay cash directly, such that he doesn't have to pay commission to Ola. Back then, due to reward structure for drivers and offers for customers, this wouldn't happen in metro cities. However, now with dwindling rewards and little offers, I wonder why this trend of paying in cash doesn't pick up? For example, there are instances when I see a 10 km ride getting a fare of 200-250. In such cases, I can cancel the ride and pay 200-odd to the driver. Even if there is some cancellation charge, it should be win-win for rider and driver. Of course, I would get banned from the app within a few cancellations so it won't really work for long.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

Of course, I would get banned from the app within a few cancellations so it won't really work for long.

Not just that. If 1 particular driver keeps getting cancellations and immediately following that, the driver is missing in the app or does not accept other rides - the aggregator will block the driver account also.

[Mortis]

I have been quite happy with the strike actually. With a lot of Uber and Ola guys off the roads and Diwali vacation my office commute time has come down to 35 minutes from the usual hour or so. Observed the same reduction in traffic during their last strike a couple of months ago. People from my friends circle who relied on these guys are also kind of seeing the bright side due to the longer duration of the strike. They are actually not having so much issue getting a normal kaali peeli, commute taking lesser time, cost is same or lower and they are noticing the ridiculous surge pricing as well.

[NaXal]

Uber India just made an announcement about their flexible fare rule. It's now linked with fuel price.

Refer to the twitter feed of @Uber_India

https://twitter.com/Uber_India/statu...050624513?s=19

Originally Posted by Uber India

Given the impact of rising fuel prices to their net earnings, independent driver partners on the Uber platform have recommended, and Uber has agreed to, the institution of a fuel price linked fare mechanism. This is first being rolled out in Mumbai (1/2)

(2/2) and we estimate it will increase the gross earnings of driver partners by Rs 1 per kilometre. For driver partners, who drive approximately eight hours a day, this is estimated to translate into a net earnings increase of ₹2,000-2,200 per month.

[sagarpadaki]

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

This is something that would happen a lot few years ago when I traveled to smaller cities. I would book cab from Ola, driver would arrive and ask if I can cancel the trip and pay cash directly, such that he doesn't have to pay commission to Ola. .....

This practice is widespread in Chennai, especially if one books an SUV. The driver will come to your location only if you agree to cancel the trip once he arrives. The reason, the commission cut out of the trip is too much for him to make a profitable run.

Off the 6 ola/uber SUV that we booked in Chennai over a span of 2 days, only one guy did not ask to cancel.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by NaXal

Uber India just made an announcement about their flexible fare rule. It's now linked with fuel price.

Refer to the twitter feed of @Uber_India

https://twitter.com/Uber_India/statu...050624513?s=19

Err, aren't fares always linked to fuel anyway? What is the other parameter that dominates the pricing of transportation other than fuel? Other factors may contribute and add up but end of the day, it's fuel that dictates the rises most often.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

I would book cab from Ola, driver would arrive and ask if I can cancel the trip and pay cash directly, such that he doesn't have to pay commission to Ola

Someone I know had checked with an Ola driver on the reason why they insist on cash, as per him it takes few days for Ola to transfer money to drivers account and they need to keep track of the same.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Someone I know had checked with an Ola driver on the reason why they insist on cash, as per him it takes few days for Ola to transfer money to drivers account and they need to keep track of the same.

Yep; this is the consistent feedback from most drivers even in Pune. They say Ola is not prompt with payment (can take many weeks vs. Uber's week) and charges a higher commission compared to Uber.