[Mindgrinder]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

Can you please elaborate on that more. What exactly are you trying to say? AFAIK the delhi traffic police pre paid booth is located both inside and outside the temrinal. I always use there service and its generally a pleasant experience although some of the cabs are really in a battered state. Another problem is at times there is a shortage of cabs and you might have to wait for 5 minutes before a cab arrives.

i am trying to say about T3 terminal at Delhi, the only counter inside are carzonrent and one more private cab, I hardly see DTP cab outlet there? if its in some remote corner then i i do not know. So as soon as you leave the gate its Private taxi lane followed by DTP cab lane followed by general public lane.

[a4anurag]

NEW DELHI: Mumbai-based Meru Cab is aiming at a turnover of Rs 600 crore this fiscal and plans to start the radio taxi services in Goa and Kolkata within six months.

"We believe that there are at least 10 more cities such as Kolkata, Chandigarh, Goa, where good quality radio taxi services are required and we would be launching there in next 12 months."

According to Pahwa, the Uttar Pradesh government has recently come up with schemes for radio taxi services and Meru is evaluating starting the services in Lucknow and Kanpur.

Genie Cabs would charge Rs 16 per km - with a base fare of Rs 100 for the first 5 km. It would be 30 per cent lesser than Meru. "Gennie is very specific for daily commute use. The whole intent is to democratise the daily commute on daily basis," Pahwa said.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/33239592.cms

Anurag.

[Baddychat]

Originally Posted by Mindgrinder

i am trying to say about T3 terminal at Delhi, the only counter inside are carzonrent and one more private cab, I hardly see DTP cab outlet there? if its in some remote corner then i i do not know. So as soon as you leave the gate its Private taxi lane followed by DTP cab lane followed by general public lane.

Agree with you. That I something I always find a little surprising because there are multiple counters both inside and outside in 1D. I think both Meru and and easy cabs have booking counters right outside the gate if I am not mistaken and you have prepaid black/yellow taxi counter on the right.

[vnabhi]

I've been using Meru cabs at Hyderabad for the past few years and so far their service has been flawless.

But our experience yesterday was not so good. Though we booked the cab 12 hours in advance for a railway station drop (55 minutes prior to departure of the train), the cab turned up 12 minutes late and put us on tenterhooks due to evening traffic.

To make matters worse, he did not even give us a receipt, and insisted we take it from their call center. With barely few minutes at hand, we had no time to argue.

But their customer support is taking its own sweet time to send me the receipt, despite calling them twice last night and once this afternoon. I'd rather stay away from Meru in future.

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Though we booked the cab 12 hours in advance for a railway station drop (55 minutes prior to departure of the train), the cab turned up 12 minutes late and put us on tenterhooks due to evening traffic.

To make matters worse, he did not even give us a receipt, and insisted we take it from their call center. With barely few minutes at hand, we had no time to argue.

But their customer support is taking its own sweet time to send me the receipt, despite calling them twice last night and once this afternoon. I'd rather stay away from Meru in future.

Reporting late even after booking it in advance is unacceptable. So, you were not given the receipt also. That's really pathetic. How will you get the receipt? Do you need to go to their call center or will any representative from their office turn up with the receipt?

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

Reporting late even after booking it in advance is unacceptable. So, you were not given the receipt also. That's really pathetic. How will you get the receipt? Do you need to go to their call center or will any representative from their office turn up with the receipt?

When I called them twice yesterday, each time they said they'd email me the receipt within 30 minutes. They also asked for an alternate email id, which I provided. They later said they were facing an issue with their email server.

I called them again this afternoon and escalated. The Manager promised to send it to me by 8 pm instead of their normal 48 hour time.

I checked now and nothing has come. Meru is off my list from now. They were good while they lasted.

[balajisv]

Uber service is top class. Though they don't have a facility to book their cab in advance, you are sure to find one when in need.
I have harrowing experiences using Meru & Ola cabs in Bangalore.

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I checked now and nothing has come. Meru is off my list from now. They were good while they lasted.

Isn't the car supposed to have a printer to give receipts? The first and the last time I used a Meru cab was in the year 2009, got the receipt then and there, paid the amount and got down. After that, actually never had any necessity to use those services again.

[JoseVijay]

There was a flash news in the regional news channels early in the morning that Meru cab drivers of the International Airport branch were on strike from today. They have also attacked the local Meru office and destroyed the furniture inside. The reason being the hike in parking charges for the cabs.

[drsingh]

My first and only experience with Meru was in Delhi. It was an Indigo with dirty seat belts that ruined my shiny white shirt for my first corporate interview. I was pissed and gave the poor travel desk girl an earful before the interview. I apologised to her after my interview and from then on I always keep an extra white shirt in the trunk

[Newpunter]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

When I called them twice yesterday, each time they said they'd email me the receipt within 30 minutes. They also asked for an alternate email id, which I provided. They later said they were facing an issue with their email server.

I called them again this afternoon and escalated. The Manager promised to send it to me by 8 pm instead of their normal 48 hour time.

I checked now and nothing has come. Meru is off my list from now. They were good while they lasted.

I had been using Meru exclusively in Bangalore for around 4 years now. I stopped using them recently after they let me down big time. I needed a cab to pick up and drop a relative early in the morning at around 5 AM, for a function at our new home. I booked the cab around 20 hours in advance and got a message that the cab was confirmed.
Early in the morning, we noticed that there was no SMS regarding the cab number. Suspicious, I called up Meru at 5:00 AM, asking for the cab details. It was then that the agent informed us that they didn't have any cab available in that area. I was furious, but all the agent could offer was an apology.
I could understand that they might not be able to provide cabs every time, but for a confirmed booking, the least they could have done was to inform me atleast an hour or so before, so that I could make alternate arrangements. To not bother to inform me till I called them was pathetic to say the least. That was the last time ever I used Meru's services.

[TSIched'Out]

Meru's service is no longer reliable. In my last 8 bookings, the car did not turn up thrice (twice it was for Airport drop in early hours for which advance bookings were done and confirmed by Meru). Also, once I was informed by the Driver to walk 1 KM or otherwise the cab will be delayed as he has taken a wrong turn and will have to take a long detour. I've completely stopped using Meru since then. Have tried Ola (especially their Mini service which is cheaper than regular sedan service) and Uber X in the last few days and found their services much better. If only I could book Uber X in advance, it would have been really nice. Also, Ola charges Rs. 50/- surcharge in peak hours which also makes it slightly expensive for its Sedan service and also at-par with Meru for its Mini service.
I had harrowing experience on multiple occassions with Tab Cab a year and half ago, stopped booking their cabs since then.

[HarshVShrotriya]

Ouch! Sometimes you really have to think twice before you say something in a forum where you want to support someone who is at the receiving end.
I must admit that Meru has its downside, its difficult to book Mery if your destination's not ending at Airport or Railway Station. However, they are evolving. I am using the updated Meru app on my S4 and boy, it's really been a help.
I have been using Meru for few years now(as I am sure many of the Bangaloreans who don't get company sponsored chauffeur driven car) and must say, I have never faced any issue with them(trust me, neither me nor anyone I know of has any relation with Meru). The cabs were always on time and if there was one thing I could rely on for my trips, it was Meru's pick up on time.
Now. with this new app, they are taking the battle to Uber. You can yourself see the cab(Meru/Genie) in your neighborhood. It gives you all the details like cab number, driver's name and contact number. One click and you have a cab booked for you. No need to call the telephone number anymore(how I love not listening to the call centre's song and irritating ads). I have used it thrice(at different times of the day) and that too on short notice, but did not face any real issues. Only once a Meru driver called me back immediately saying he will not be able to make it - I re-opened the app and booked a genie and got it in 10 minutes.
So, yeah there are pros and cons. But seriously, if you have not tried the app yet, try it out.

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by JoseVijay

There was a flash news in the regional news channels early in the morning that Meru cab drivers of the International Airport branch were on strike from today. They have also attacked the local Meru office and destroyed the furniture inside. The reason being the hike in parking charges for the cabs.

Sorry for the delay in sharing the link from TOI.

HYDERABAD: Over 600 cab drivers in the city employed with Meru Cabs stayed off the roads on Monday protesting alleged harassment at the hands of the management. The strike was most severe at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA), where drivers beat up their supervisor and even burnt down a Meru cab parked in the PTC (Passenger or Public Transportation Center) area at around 9.25pm. The incident forced RGIA police to rush to the spot and control the mob.

Confirming the event, RGIA inspector T Sudhakar said: "Protesting cab drivers set ablaze a taxi within the airport premises. A case has been registered under relevant sections of IPC. No arrests have been made." According to sources, one of the primary reasons for the agitation is high parking fee being levied on drivers by both the Meru management and RGIA.

"Every day we have to pay Rs 170 (per cab per trip) as parking fee that is divided in a pre-decided ratio between airport authorities and Meru. As a result, we eventually make very little money from our rounds, especially the short trips that fetch just about Rs 200 or so," said a distraught driver on condition of anonymity. He added: "The drivers are so fed up that many have started refusing short distance pick-ups and drops. But each time they do so, they are charged a fine anywhere between Rs 250 and Rs 1,000 by the management."

But while Monday's incident may have been a result of an internal discord within Meru, private cab operators in Hyderabad rued how the escalating parking fee at RGIA became a contentious issue for those operating from the airport. "It's a nexus between the airport and radio taxi companies (Meru and Sky cabs, which have counters at RGIA) that's at work here. Together they are fleecing not just poor drivers but customers too. Both parties make lakhs of rupees every day through parking fee alone," said a member of the Prepaid Taxi Drivers' Association that also has a stand at the airport. But while each of these radio taxi companies have at least 300 cabs parked at the airport at any given point of time, the figure is a mere 179 for prepaid taxis. This, despite the latter being significantly cheaper.

And now, with RGIA introducing a new parking fee of Rs 50 (per cab per trip) for these radio taxis, with effect from September 15, the already pricey drive from the airport has only become more expensive for passengers opting for these cabs.

"I was startled when the driver handed me a bill of Rs 890 (from airport to Punjagutta) on my recent visit to the city," said a Chennai-based professional, Swetha Narayanan, who flew in to Hyderabad last month. Apart from being shocked by the revised meter -- from Rs 15 per km until a year ago the taxi fare has now jumped to Rs 22 per km -- Narayanan was also taken aback by the 'parking fee' added to her bill this time. "Why do I need to pay parking fee for a cab that is not exclusively waiting for me at the airport?" she asked, echoing the sentiment of several such other commuters. For a pre-paid taxi, the fare would be about Rs 700.

While, Nabeel Hussain, partner, Sky Cabs, argued that "cab operators have no choice but to pass the burden onto its customers as it is impossible for them to bear the additional cost", GMR Hyderabad International Airport Ltd (GHIAL) officials justified its move through an e-mail statement which read: "We have been providing them (transport providers) services such as upkeep and maintenance of parking infrastructure (parking bays, parking CCTV infrastructure), power, water and housekeeping without any charges. Recently, the airport has introduced a nominal parking charge for its authorised radio cabs towards the above mentioned services. This model of parking charges is prevalent in all major airports in India."