By the time the vehicle is delivered to the final destination, it has been through quite a handful of brutal drivers.

BHPian 2TR-FE recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

With the ever-increasing need for Auto logistics in our country, I felt the need to write this as an eye-opener for every individual planning to get his vehicle transported.

This was back in August 2023 when I had to visit Bengaluru for a day. Since it was an impromptu plan, the easiest way was to check available seats on Carpooling Apps. Consequently, I found a few riders, contacted them and finalized one. Interestingly, this particular rider was happy to accept my negotiation attempts which had been against my previous experience while carpooling. Also, he hadn't mentioned the make and model of the vehicle which was again a red flag.

However, I joined him within an hour at Aramgarh Cross Roads in Hyderabad. He was driving a silver-coloured 1st gen Maruti Swift Dzire whose condition reflected good maintenance by the owner. Once settled, the next red flag was to see his speedometer disconnected. His crazy driving further confirmed my belief that he was not the owner of this vehicle. Flying through crater-like speedbreakers at speeds north of 40 km/h was just making my heart cry for the car.

Observe the speedometer. In reality, he was showing the least amount of mercy towards the accelerator!

At a toll gate around Anantapur, we were waiting in the queue when the engine just died. He turns towards me with a grin and exclaims "Petrol Khatam!". This was the final nail in the coffin that made me burst on him. With a smile on his face, he opens the boot takes out 2 to 3 bottles of fuel and pours it in. This was actually to minimize the fuel cost for him.

The least amount of fuel is filled just to make sure the vehicle reaches the destination with a bone-dry tank and heavy pockets.

After a few hours into the drive and some long conversations, he revealed the dirty trade secrets of auto logistics which blew my mind.

Turns out, this particular vehicle is owned by an army official who has been transferred to some southern state in India. I could see the army-associated permits on the windshield. The vehicle has been given to some car transporter which is further handed over to agents like these. Since the transporting company couldn't arrange space on their trailer, they opted for these hacks as they had a deadline to meet.

These agents have a network across the country that handles particular sectors. By the time the vehicle is delivered to the final destination, it has been through quite a handful of brutal drivers. As far as the finances are concerned, the agent gets a significant amount from the transporting company for driving each section excluding fuel costs. Apart from this, the cash he gets from the car-pooling riders is an additional earning.

When I enquired about the companies involved, He mentioned some of the top players in this field.

Through this platform of T-BHP, I feel obligated to inform all car-loving citizens about these horrendous acts. Therefore, Stay safe and drive yourself!

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

I was helpless and couldn't prove anything. Maybe he took advantage of our ages - my friend and I are both 16+ years old and we were going to our tuition.

BHPian arnav17 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I take an auto along with my friend twice a week on weekends to travel to tuition, which is approximately a 5km travel and usually costs <100 in the day time and slightly upwards of 100 during night time.

In this instance, I booked an auto and this man, let us call him X accepted the booking and we began to wait. Fast forward 10 minutes, he still has not moved. I called him via the Uber free call. No response. Called his mobile. Again no answer. The second time around he picked up and said he would be there in a few minutes.

We waited for 5 more minutes but he still did not move. We were getting late for the class, hence I opted to cancel and rebook. The same man accepts it. I call, he picks up and promises to be there within 2 minutes and arrives after 5 minutes. I checked the price on the app as attached and it read ₹79. Did not think of taking a screenshot then.

When we reached, I got the customary message which read 'Please pay your driver ₹79'. I gave him a 100 rupee note and waited for change but got none. He claimed that he 'accidentally' ended the ride and did not see the price. I showed him the message on my phone, but he was busy showing his previous trips on his phone, where my trip apparently read ₹101. By the time I saw the location, he quickly went out of the app and I was helpless and couldn't prove anything. I am 100% sure that I saw his phone when we stopped and it showed that I must pay ₹79.

We were already around 15 min late by then and I had no choice but to rush and the man claimed to be generous for willing to forego ₹1. I have seen the initial price changing in case of traffic, or a different route. But never have I faced this type of situation.

I am unaware of how he did it, but the response from Uber was pathetic. Raised the help option in the app and they refunded ₹0.37. I cannot say whether he took advantage of our ages (we both are 16+), but know for sure that we got scammed. I would advise all of you to take screenshots of the price and have some evidence to prove this. Attaching the ride details.

Thanks for reading.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

The cab was going at the city speed of 30-45km on a sunny afternoon. Everything was good, the driver was polite, perfectly cooled car beating the summer heat .

BHPian Ad_J recently shared this with other enthusiasts

Greetings TeamBHPians !

This is my first thread on TeamBHP and I am afraid it might not be what most of the first threads are about. This is rather a grim mention of a few of my cab rides. I request the moderators to move this thread, if it is in the wrong place, to a suitable forum and pardon my naivety of TeamBHP rules. Please bear with me, it will be a long post.

The Premise

During my college years i.e. 2016-19 I had to commute extensively to manage my college and my ancestral apple orchards as there are only three of us in the family. Since my elder sister was already doing a job in another city, sometimes my mother had a hard time managing the business and other homely affairs all by herself. So, as I said, I had to commute extensively between the city where I was studying and my hometown. Being young, dumb and [by privilege] not broke (music lovers will know the song) I had this giddy belief that this was my time to struggle and I even refused to have a car. Then I was heavily under the impression of the financial advice that car is a depreciating asset and it makes sense to use public transport or hire a cab. My ignorance overshadowed the convenience and more importantly time saving aspect of owning a car. I used public transport where I could and booked a cab where I couldn't find any buses on time.
So yeah, I have extensive experience of riding in a cab.

Disclaimer:

This is based on personal accounts. NO INTENTION TO HURT OR DEFAME ANYONE. I am not generalizing. I have had some pleasant experiences too, a few where drivers were nice and responsible. Nonetheless, most of the cabbies aren't well mannered, both on the road and as a person.

Below is the list of a couple of the instances that are on top of my mind:

The blood eye.

The cab was going at the city speed of 30-45km on a sunny afternoon. Everything was good, the driver was polite, perfectly cooled car beating the summer heat and proper lane discipline except for two things - I was at the back without wearing a seatbelt (my fault) and the driver was watching a movie in android infotainment system simultaneously. I was skeptical about his multitasking but I don't know why I said nothing to him. All I thought was that it's gonna be just a short ride. All of a sudden, I felt a jolt and then fell leftwards banging my head against a grab handle. Next thing I remember the sky above from the right windows and asphalt through the left. The car had hit the curb and toppled left.

Thankfully, I just had a mild concussion, a sprained shoulder, a blue temple and a blooded left eye that lasted 3 weeks.

The chills down the spine.

My friend and I were returning from a late-night movie. Along the way there were three girls walking. The middle-aged cab driver watched them like a bloodhound and passed a remark which left the two of us in utter shock. The mere thought of it as I am writing this gives me chills down the spine. It is so disgusting that I don't even want to type it. From that day onwards I never let my sister, mother, girlfriend and my female relatives travel alone in cab.

Don't know how many predators out there are leering at the little girls and women. I reported this to OLA Cabs.

Never sit in the front.

Those were the early days of Uber Pool. I was the first passenger to be picked up and I sat in the front seat. This young driver got a little chatty with me. I talked to him about how much he earned from Uber and stuff like that. Two young women boarded the cab from a college gate. I was the last one to be dropped off and when I reached my destination that cabbie told me which I will loosely translate here as - "Thank God brother you sat in the front, otherwise it becomes very difficult for me concentrate on the road when a girl sits at the front and she is wearing the seatbelt." I watched him in shock and all I managed to do was to point out that it was wrong. Later I complained to Uber. Ladies, avoid sitting in the front.

Long Booking.

The three of us friends decided to book a cab to a station from where we were supposed to board different buses to our hometown. We were going home after semester exams for vacations. We had a lot of luggage. So, we decided to book a cab from a taxi stand for ₹3500 for 140kms. About 60KMs or so the cabbie got a call. He then did something which I had never anticipated in my farthest dreams. He stopped the taxi in the middle of nowhere and told us he had to go back because he got a "long booking". Upon objection and arguments, he got out of the car and threw our bags out of the trunk. We were shit scared. Sensing our helplessness that man asked us to pay ₹2000 for the distance covered. A bus came after 10 minutes or so, and the bus driver was keen enough to sense something was wrong. Seeing that the bus was stopping, that cabbie took a U-Turn and sped away. The three of us were about 19, apt enough to note down the Vehicle Number Plate but scared enough to not get the matter reported to the police. The main reason not to lodge a complaint was that one of us was a girl and she was afraid of her family if they came to know of her being friends with boys. I believe most of the people coming from tier-2 or tier-3 cities or small towns know what I am talking about.

PRO TIP: If you are a young adult prefer public transport. And don't hide everything from your parents. Give them a chance, they know better.

If you have made this far, I thank you. I hope you all learnt something from my experience. I am sorry if the post is depressing.

Here's what BHPian saikishor had to say on the matter:

The cases you have mentioned felt like extreme cases to me. My experience with cabs in Hyderabad has been decent till now and nothing more than that. However I can recall one cab ride from 2016, which just has to be the worst experience I had with cabs till date. I was accompanying my mom to a job interview. This cab guy showed up late in a not so clean car. And then he started blasting telugu christian songs in full volume, despite of my mom telling him to stop playing them twice. And add to this he dropped us at a wrong location, making us to walk for 200-300m.

I prefer bike taxis over cabs, as these are much cheaper and the experience with these guys has been mostly positive.

Here's what BHPian chinkara had to say on the matter:

To add to your tales of woe (you are presumably from North).

A colleague was going to a friend's place in Gurgaon during her internship in Delhi (she was from down south, so not very familiar with roads). The driver took her towards some village far away - she sensed something was amiss and jumped out of the moving car when it slowed down in a pothole. The driver came out and chased her, but stopped as some uncles were under a tree nearby. It was an incident reported in the news at the time (Uber). She still felt the trauma when she recounted the incident 3 years later.

This was in 2015 I think - the days of great fog in winter. I was in Gwalior and supposed to take the Shatabdi back to Delhi. I had an important meeting next morning and was leaving on our family vacation next evening. After waiting for 4-5 hours, we were told that the train has been stopped and may be delayed by 18-19 hours. I asked around, and was told that there was a cab from Delhi which was looking for a return passenger. We settled on a price and set off around midnight.

By Morena, I realized the guy was too tired to drive. Almost veered towards a tree. The fog was also settling on the road. I asked him to take rest in the back seat and drove myself. Finally near Palwal he woke up refreshed and drove the rest of the way.

Here's what BHPian IndieGooner had to say on the matter:

Many years ago, I hitched an early morning cab ride with my brother-in-law's friend. We were traveling southwards from Kochi and the cab was scheduled to pick us up at 5:00. The driver arrived at the appointed hour on a Linea and we set off. He told us that he will be dropping at Cherthala as he had been driving overnight. Another driver from the cab agency would be waiting for us there and take us rest of the distance.

Things went as expected until the first driver dropped and in walked our new driver - a kid who looked not a day older than 20. Next several kilometres were absolute madness as this guy proceeded to break every single traffic rule and driving etiquette that mankind has known! I have never been in a vehicle more rashly and insanely driven.

Short time later, we stopped for refueling and my very white faced and shaken co-passenger asked me "what the heck is going on?" Despite our protests the madness continued after the fuel break as well. Finally, somewhere near Alappuzha he attempted an impossible manouver on a narrow bridge and got stopped by another cabbie coming in the opposite direction. This guy gave our driver a good earful and pointing at us asked "are you going to murder these folks today?" Fortunately, some good sense prevailed on our driver after this outburst and we were driven rest of the way in much more civilized manner.

Thinking back, I wonder why we were not more forceful in our protests and allowed this lunatic to put us in so much risk? Maybe, we were too shocked? The cab was booked by my co-passenger and I was merely hitching a ride. I hope he did complain to the cab agency.

Here's what BHPian Small Bot had to say on the matter:

There are two incidents that I'd like to narrate.

Wife and I were travelling towards Thane in an Ola Cab a few months ago when a traffic policeman threw himself at our car. Our driver stopped and he was immediately whisked away into a police station nearby (This happened near Kalyan West).

We wait for twenty minutes, during which the driver kept telling us on call that he'll be out in two minutes. We got our luggage out and started waiting in the roadside bus stop instead. We felt safer with more normal people around. When the driver finally came out, it was almost 25 minutes later and we decided to cancel the cab.

He immediately cancelled the cab from his app and ran off without a word. We did see the policemen come out and look for him again, but we had boarded another cab by then.

I think it could have been some serious offence, but probably not serious enough to warrant arrest.

The second incident was a lot more serious. This happened in Chennai when the wife was travelling from the airport towards Ashok Pillar late in the night.

The driver apparently seemed drunk and he was not going in the direction pointed out by either her or Google Maps - as in, kept diverting into narrow side roads instead of going by the main road. He was also going too fast for city roads.

She finally asked him to stop near a government hospital and got off quickly. He then threw some choice words at her which I'll not repeat here and ran off.

Reported duly to Ola, but no idea if this is just lip-service or if anything concrete really happened.

Here's what BHPian Mr.Ogre had to say on the matter:

I have had a few not so good experiences, especially when I was trying to book a cab from Phoenix market City in the evening and both ola and uber drivers were just cancelling the rides after accepting them.

However, yesterday I had a weird experience. I booked a cab to pick me from Marriott through uber, but the driver called back to say he was at the airport and I need to come to the airport. I was surprised and amused, and requested the driver to either come to the pick up location mentioned in the app or cancel it. Needless to say he cancelled it.

Here's what BHPian noopster had to say on the matter:

My own "worst cab experience" dates back to pre-Uber/Ola days and ironically when I wasn't a passenger myself. This is some time in the late 80s/ early 90s when my Dad used to go on regular official trips abroad. Cabs were not that common in the suburbs back then, it was mostly autorickshaw-dominated. Still there was a spot on SV Road, about a 12-minute walk from home, where you could find taxis.

I would usually be the one dispatched to fetch a cab to the airport. I remember walking to SV Road (the junction where Hotel Ratna stands, to this day) and asking the kaali-peeli cabs parked there, "Airport chalenge?" None of them was interested. One of them told me they were waiting for customers to "Bombay" (meaning the business district in South Mumbai) since they were assured of a return fare. He was kind enough to advise me to flag one of the passing cabs since they would be more amenable.

No luck. I couldn't find too many cabs plying and the one or two I asked harboured similar sentiments.

I started to panic. Started heading in the opposite direction, to Link Road to try my luck there. Same problem!

I finally just ran home and to my consternation (and then relief) found my Dad outside our building loading his luggage into a taxi waiting there. They waited and waited, then worked out what may have happened and my sister remembered a friend of hers from school whose father operated a cab service (those white Ambassadors with the T board).
Luckily he was able to send a cab at short notice, so my dad made his flight after all!

I still have nightmares of spending close to an hour flagging down cars in increasing desperation sometimes! After that incident, Dad used to just call that T-cab guy so I was off the hook

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Depending on the number of seats, the fee varies from Rs 625 to Rs 1,150.

The state government of Tamil Nadu now allows all types of private cars to be converted into taxis or commercial vehicles. Until recently, this transfer option was only available for select car models.

Car owners who wish to use their vehicles as taxis can obtain a taxi permit from the RTO by paying a small fee. Depending on the number of seats, the fee varies from Rs 625 to Rs 1,150.

Once the RTO approves the application, owners can change the number plate to yellow. The permit will be valid for 5 years but these vehicles will be subjected to annual fitness tests.

According to a media report, the move is aimed at addressing the taxi shortage. It would also help keep taxi fares in check by promoting competition with cab aggregators like Ola and Uber.

Source: ET Auto

The transport department has set the age limit for taxis to 20 years.

Mumbai’s ‘kaali-peeli’ (black and yellow) taxis based on the Premier Padmini will be phased out from October 30, 2023; ending the Maximum City’s 6-decade-long love affair with the iconic model.

The last Premier Padmini was registered as a taxi at the Tardeo RTO on October 29. It is owned by Prabhadevi resident, Abdul Kareem Karsekar.

The transport department has set the age limit for taxis to 20 years. Earlier, the Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) had phased out its diesel-powered double-decker buses due to the end of their 15-year codal life.

Following the announcement, Mahindra Group Chairman Anand Mahindra posted on X (formerly Twitter), “From today, the iconic Premier Padmini Taxi vanishes from Mumbai’s roads. They were clunkers, uncomfortable, unreliable, noisy. Not much baggage capacity either. But for people of my vintage, they carried tons of memories. And they did their job of getting us from point A to point B. Goodbye and alvida, kaali-peeli taxis. Thank you for the good times.”

Rapido has been offering bike taxi services in over 100 cities in India.

Rapido, the 2-wheeler and 3-wheeler ride-hailing platform is all set to launch its cab service to compete with brands like Ola and Uber.

According to a media report, Rapido has been operating its cab service in Hyderabad over the last few months on a pilot basis. The platform, which is in an advanced test stage, has received a positive response till now.

"At Rapido, we're thrilled to share that our test run in Hyderabad for Rapido Cabs is off to a fantastic start. The city's vibrant market has warmly embraced us, and the positive response is truly heartening. As we navigate our path forward, we are committed to keeping you closely informed about our progress and eagerly anticipate bringing our innovative services to other cities," the company said in a statement.

Rapido was founded in 2015 and has been offering bike taxi services in over 100 cities in India. The company recently expanded into the 3-wheeler segment.

Source: Tech Crunch

Similar government-owned ride-hailing apps have already been launched in Kerala and Goa.

The Government of Karnataka plans to launch its own ride-hailing app, similar to those offered by Ola and Uber. The new app is expected to be rolled out within 6 months.

The ride-hailing app will be developed by the e-Governance department and will be run on a 'no-profit, no-loss' basis. The app will allow users to book cabs, auto rickshaws and licensed e-bike taxis. It will also have built-in features for the safety and security of customers.

According to the State Transport Authority Secretary, L Hemanth Kumar, the transport department will work on the modalities of implementation, while the platform will be managed by a third-party administrator.

Kumar also said that there have been complaints from unions about the high commissions charged by ride-hailing companies. Customers are also forced to deal with dynamic pricing during peak hours and service charges.

Similar government-owned ride-hailing apps have already been launched in Kerala and Goa.

Source: ET Auto

Most of the common vehicles used are Mahindra Xylo, Chevrolet Tavera, Toyota Innova and Etios, Tata Indica and Indigo, and Hyundai Xcent.

BHPian efuture recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello all, I am creating this thread to clear a bug that comes to my mind every time I cross an IT park in Chennai. There are a lot of cabs - hatchbacks, sedans, SUVs / MPVs parked outside the parks and a lot more cabs coming out of the gate.

I was curious how the business is working, who is making money out there, how much corporate companies are paying to transport the employees and why not big buses and vans and why small hatchbacks or some 7-seater SUVs.

I have many friends in IT, but none of them knows how it works even though they avail the service every day. Most common vehicles are Xylo, Tavera, Innova, Indica, Indigo, Etios and Xcent in Chennai. Also, there are not many affordable diesel vehicles available in the market. With this, how this industry's future is going to be without affordable fuel-efficient machinery?

I'm reaching out to the forum members to throw some light on employee transportation in the corporate sector with small cars and MPVs.

Here's what BHPian am1m had to say about the matter:

In Bangalore, usually, the pick-up and drop is from/at the employee's house, so to better navigate the small side roads and to better distribute the pick-up and drop in different parts of the city, I guess they opt for smaller vehicles. The bigger IT companies like Infy do use buses, and I guess for common pickup and drop areas on main roads, a bigger vehicle would work.

On rates- at one company I used to work at, the transport bill used to cost the company 10L a month.

Here's what BHPian Everlearner had to say about the matter:

Our company uses small hatchbacks and sedans for employee transport in Bengaluru since the BLR population is small compared to other locations. Sometimes I chat with the drivers on my way to office/home. Below are some pointers I heard from them.

• The organization has tied up with a vendor who has an app to provide booking/cancellation and also live tracking of cabs.
• The actual contract of the organization is with a large vendor who in turn hires multiple individual cabs.
• Most of the cab drivers are owners as well and they get paid around 55k as a monthly package for a 12-hour daily shift. So, the actual billing rate from the vendor to the org will be more than this.
• There is no separate fuel or maintenance allowance. The driver/owner needs to take care of the expenses within this package. Most of the drivers say the fuel expenses are easily managed with this package.
• Daily workload for a cab involves 2-3 pickup trips and 2-3 drop trips spread across the day. My very crude guess would be around 150-200 KM running per day.
• Most of the cabs are either diesel or CNG.

Additionally, transport via small cars is more expensive for the company. Our Mumbai office provides only TT/minibus type of vehicles with designated stops only on very major roads. Since the BLR population is small, larger vehicles may not get completely utilized. I have heard that BLR office will also follow Mumbai model once we reach a substantial population.

Here's what BHPian raptor_diwan had to say about the matter:

There used to be an agency that partnered with IT companies to provide such services.

Even one of my friends working in IT bought a Toyota Etios car through EMI and leased it to the agency for use as a cab. They provided a driver, and the car was used extensively for about 3 to 4 years. My friend received monthly payments, which not only covered the EMI but also generated a decent profit. When the car reached retirement age ( According to IT companies, they generally do not use cars that are older than 5 years. ) my friend handed it over to another agency, continuing the cycle.

As mentioned by others, not every company is as large as TCS to afford and utilize big buses. Besides, they might lack sufficient parking space. Opting for smaller cars enables them to conveniently pick up and drop off employees even in narrow streets, while also reaching more locations efficiently.

Here's what BHPian condor had to say about the matter:

Many larger IT companies offer a free drop during the night time - say, for people working in the afternoon shift. Night shift folks get a pick-up and drop. 2nd shift folks will need to pay for the pick-up since it is in the daytime, and they often use public transport for this part.

In such cases, they can make do with smaller cars, like hatchbacks.

Others -esp larger companies - do a pick-up and drop for even day shift folks, and these companies would use the larger vehicles.

Pick-up /drop being at door-step, they often have to go into smaller roads - hence here again a smaller car will be better.

I guess it's all about logistics - the number of people on the trip, & the location that will decide the type of vehicles.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

Passengers travelling to the city from Mopa airport are paying hefty amounts for cab services.

BHPian ninjatalli recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Has anyone traveled to Goa via the new airport in Mopa (North Goa)? Heard stories of atrocious cab charges (at government-mandated rates) as the airport is quite far away from the beaches (and the main city).

Here's what BHPian RM Motorsports had to say about the matter:

A friend traveled but he had rented a car so the car was delivered at the Airport.

However, I have heard cab rates from Mopa to south Goa are equivalent to BOM-GOI airfares.

But they have started Airport EV buses to close-by places.

Here's what BHPian am1m had to say about the matter:

How a group of taxi operators supported by (and in turn supporting) local politicians can hold the entire tourism sector of a state like Goa hostage to their whims is going to be a case study someday for tourism-study/degree courses.

It's been obvious for a long time that Goa has a public transport issue and the problem is the taxi drivers. The solution is pretty obvious- allow more competition and the normal app-based taxi aggregators and also run more local buses.

But the government depends on support from local politicians. In a state where assembly election victories can be with margins as low as 100 votes, the local politicians have no choice but to serve the interests of the taxi unions who vote for those who will allow them to continue their extortionate ways.

Goa tourism is going to have to realize that the costs and inconveniences associated with visiting the state are just increasing each year. Without a corresponding rise in the tourist experience, quite the opposite in fact. The resorts might have gotten fancier, but the beaches they face have gotten noisier, dirtier, and more polluted. Sooner or later people are going to realize that beach destinations in Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, or even nearby SE-Asian countries are much better value for money. At least the family and higher-value tourists will go that way and Goa risks being left with the drunken-all-male-groups and casino tourists.

Here's what BHPian snr had to say about the matter:

We had the shock of our lives last month when we went to Goa for a short vacation. Luckily we drove down from Bangalore. The first evening we decided to take a taxi since we were going out for a party where alcohol was going to be involved. We walked close to a km to find someone to take us to our destination. We ended up shelling out 1200 bucks for a 6km drive.

The way back was a bigger nightmare as it was quite late in the night (around 1am) with nobody willing to take us back to our hotel. Regretted not taking our car. Finally, around 1:35 am we found someone who agreed to drop us back and we happily paid him 2000, though he asked for 1800.

Never again are we ever doing this!

Here's what BHPian richie4u had to say about the matter:

Being from the sunny state of Goa itself, I am terribly ashamed of our public transportation system and what's even more shameful is that we call ourselves a tourist-friendly state.

Goa does have a taxi service which is crude but similar to the OLA and Uber services we call it "Goa Miles" the app is available on your respective app store. I sincerely suggest you use the same when you land in Goa. It isn't exactly cheaper but much better than getting exorbitantly fleeced so much where'd you wish you never came here again.

Secondly, for those who wish to travel to the quieter area of Goa please book tickets to Dabolim Airport, Goa also known as GOI so that you are closer towards south Goa. The rest who like to party and wish to travel up north can stick to the new airport - MOPA also known as GOX.

Unless the taxi union and the Government realise the self-harm their stubborn attitude is causing them, the tourist-friendly tag is going to be omitted real soon from Goa.

P.S. Saw many replies from fellow bhpians who were stranded in Goa for the same issue. Next time please feel free to DM me so that I can share my contact for any local help/advice you guys need in Goa. Happy to help.

Here's what BHPian bordeaux had to say about the matter:

Goa is one of the least value-for-money destinations in India and the mafia attitude of taxi drivers makes it worse. Even though my friends/wife keep pushing me for Goa, I just prefer flying out to Thailand or other South East Asian countries and it still turns out the nearly same cost and a much better experience. Goa is a no go(a) for me.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

A few weeks later when I checked my Ola app, it showed me that I need to clear my pending dues (of my last ride).

BHPian v12 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I usually do not like to post grievances online but I guess Ola Customer Support has taken it too far now.

I have had a lot of good and not so good experience with Customer Support across various services - Internet Services Providers, Banks, Consumer Stores etc. But the Ola Customer Support takes the cake.

I have been using Ola since a couple of years now and till date have never faced any issues whatsoever. However things changed at the start of the year and that was now my last Ola drive. I'd rather use a regular autorickshaw than Ola cabs.

I had booked an Ola cab from Mumbai to Thane in January this year. Post completion of the ride, the payment was promptly made to the driver (through GPay). A few weeks later when I checked my Ola app, it showed me that I need to clear my pending dues (of my last ride). I tried reaching out to Ola Customer Support through their app - and believe it or not, they don't have a section where you can select a query for payment made and not acknowledged. They do not even have a Hotline number that works at any time of the day. I finally sent them an email to their customer support on 4-Mar with evidence showing the ride details and the payment being made. And the response I receive from them is to raise a grievance via the app (where there is no option). I drop an email back mentioning there is no option to select for the query I have.

And here is the rest of the story :

On March 5, I received an email from Manisha "Please note that the amount will not reflect in your account after 72 hours."

I checked in Mar 9 and the message still showed on the app.

On March 13 I received an email from Anjali "We tried reaching you on your mobile number *******## on 12-03-2022 at around 12:45 PM but we couldn't get through." - but I never got any call from Ola.

On Mar 17 I receive an email from Himanshu to provide more details which were already provided earlier.

On Mar 18 I receive an email from Dorothy that you are unable to provide a refund - BUT I NEVER ASKED FOR A REFUND.

On March 19 I received an email from Santhosh "Please note that the amount will not reflect in your account after 72 hours."

On March 20 I received an email from Mohan "Please note that the amount will not reflect in your account after 72 hours."

On March 23 I received an email from Lalith "Please note that the amount will not reflect in your account after 72 hours."

At this rate, I am sure each and every employee from the Ola Customer Support will be reaching out to me with a 72 hours turn-around-time.

It's 28-Mar today and there is no resolution on the issue. I mean, how hard is it for an Ola Customer Support to review the evidence that I have attached and resolve the query. The email has been through 7 executives now without a proper resolution.

Seriously, this kind of a support is ridiculous. Reminds me of the joke, how many OLA Customer Support executives people does it take to resolve one simple query??

Answer, probably their entire Customer Service department.

Have any of you faced such a situation with Ola Customer Support? Please do share your experiences.

Here's what BHPian rohitoasis had to say on the matter:

How timely is this post. Just last Friday did I use Ola app after a period of few years.

It was 5 in the morning and I was not the most attentive after three days of travel. The new UI was confusing to me. I assumed i had selected the cash option and promptly paid the driver in cash after completing the journey.

After freshening up, I sat with the mobile to see a mail about Ola post paid pop in my mailbox. Apparently i had selected Ola post paid option to pay up the amount. So basically i ended up paying twice for the journey. I was fuming and tried looking up options for raising a ticket. Three mails down and still I have no idea if they have seen my communication at all. Just 15 minutes back, I paid up the dues of Ola post paid as well and promptly logged off Ola never to use it again.

Here's what BHPian EV NXT had to say on the matter:

Ola Customer Support executives select responses to customer complaints from the various options in a drop down menu. They are not allowed to think up a response.

That is why you get responses that are repeated. Nothing new.

The reason for this is 3 fold:

(1) Ola / Uber do not want their executives to draft their own response - you can imagine the quality of English you would have to handle and (2) Ola / Uber believe that all complaints can be categorized into the options mentioned in their internal drop down menu. (3) Varying responses by customer support executives could land Ola in trouble.

So if you’re stuck outside of those options, you have to keep repeating your complaint, IGNORING the response from the customer support executive AND ask for an escalation to the higher up’s.

If you’re patient enough till this complaint lying open catches the eye of the higher up’s you could get a resolution.

Best of luck.

Here's what BHPian thanixravindran had to say on the matter:

Ok, This means the driver simply has not updated the Cash as collected and scammed you. When the driver reaches the destination, he will complete the trip. You will see the trip as complete in the status. When the cash is paid, he has to mark it as Paid and then the status will change to Paid (in Green color) for you. If it is card payment, it is automatic as Ola will change it in software.

I experienced this more than 5 years ago in Bangalore Railway station with Ola. I completed the trip, paid in cash but status is only Completed and not as Paid. I waited for 10 minutes and then called the driver (I was lucky as I called him earlier) and asked him to update the payment status. He told that there is a network problem and I told I will call Ola support since I have to take another cab. He updated and immediately trip status becomes Paid.

So you may try reaching out the driver as you have the number and check the possibility of him updating the trip status to Paid. Or check whether you can escalate it through social media channels.

Here's what BHPian FiestaST had to say on the matter:

Hi V12.

I have a similar story to share and my issue isn’t resolved two years later.

I took Ola ride in March 2020 from Hyderabad Airport to home. I paid the driver via Paytm and the driver I believe scammed me by not updating the trip is settled.

Couple of days later when I wanted to take another ride I noticed Ola wants me to pay. I immediately reached out support from the app and received bit like responses just like you did.

Reached out to them on Twitter and it gets funnier. They ask me to pay up and request refund. That sounded counter intuitive to me.

They wanted me to pay one more time just so I can check back in to taste their world class service one more time!? And that’s how they permanently lost me to Uber.

Anyway, let pictures do the talking:

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.