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Founded by Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp back in 2009, the app based cab aggregator today offers service across 450+ cities in 73 countries. In India, where you were tired of being refused by black and yellow taxis and autos every morning, <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> has brought relief to most of us. No more do we have to fight with auto and taxi drivers, and coax them to take us even if they demand extra bucks. 
 
While you are taking your weekend ride in autumn, did you know that there are several unknown facts about Uber. And yes, you need to know these for these would make your ride better.

9 unusual facts about
Uber that will make your ride convenient

BANGALORE: The fight to win over the Indian taxi passenger has intensified with aggregator Olacabs and cab hailing app Uber slashing prices by a fourth in Delhi—a development that is likely to force rivals to follow suit. 
 
While Ola has cut rates in its lowerend car business—Ola mini—to Rs 10 /km, Uber has cut prices for its premium segment Uber BLACK. Separately, the San Francisco-based taxi hailing app also announced that it will be launching its affordable ride service UberX in three more Indian cities: Mumbai, Chennai and Pune. “We are pushing our efficiency system to the maximum,” said Shailesh Sawlani, general manager of Uber in Mumbai. "We see this as a daily commute option for our riders and plan to maintain these prices if customers ride with us as much as we anticipate." 
 UberX Mumbai fares are Rs 15/km with a minimum base fare of Rs 50 and total minimum fare of Rs 125. The latest moves come after Uber cut its prices in Bangalore by 25% last month. Ola also reduced fares to Rs10/km for its <keyword id="2210965" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ola-Mini">Ola Mini</keyword> service in the Garden City. “We have been able to optimise our inventory,” said Pranay Jivrajka, vice president of operations at Olacabs. 
 
According to industry estimates, taxi companies are struggling to keep pace with the rising demand and on average cannot accommodate a fifth of the bookings. To address this problem Ola said it will increase the number of cabs available on its mobile app by about 35% to 3,200 in Delhi alone. Ola’s total fleet size is about 15,000. 
 
“These price cuts are just a starting point to acquire customers and establishing the brand image till the time you hit a critical mass,” said Arvind Singhal, chairman of Technopak. “At Rs 10/km Ola is making losses on each Ola Mini ride,” said a source directly familiar with the matter. Same is the case with Uber, according to another source. Uber’s price drop in Bangalore is, however, for a limited duration. 
 The company has not specified the timeframe. Other competitors like TaxiFor-Sure are focussing on discount codes to expand the customer base instead of cutting prices. “We keep doing event-related promotions and offer discount vouchers from time to time,” said Aprameya Radhakrishna, founder and chief executive of <keyword id="1428790" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="TaxiforSure">TaxiForSure</keyword>. 
 
“Till the time, taxi aggregators will not face pressure to turn profitable, the freebies will continue,” said Jaspal Singh, cofounder of Valoriser Consultants, which provides market research services for transportation companies. “These companies are looking to build valuation by expanding geographic reach, recruiting more number of drivers and attracting bookings to increase revenue.” 
 However other aggregators like <keyword id="108722" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Meru-Cabs">Meru Cabs</keyword> and Savaari cabs feel that price cuts is not sustainable long-term. “Meru does not believe in price wars,” said Siddhartha Pahwa, CEO of MERU Cabs. “Consumers will not take a cab because it’s cheap but for its reliability, safety and professional service.”

Win For Customers as Taxi Companies Like Olacabs, Uber Cut Fares In Delhi, Others May Follow

It’s a fact universally acknowledged that city commute for urban young Indians have undergone a vast makeover. Thanks to <keyword id="6354720" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="ola">Ola</keyword> and Uber, getting a cab has been breeze and doesn’t burn a hole in the pocket. However if you are regular to any of these cab services, you would know, some of the chauffeurs often tend to be rude, inattentive to customers and callous. While in some cases, it’s the general habit of chauffeurs, many a times; the driver is doing his duties for last 17 hours or more continuously. And his lack of rest is a major reason for the behaviour. When these chauffeurs had joined Ola and Uber, they thought that the earnings would be no less than Rs 1 lac, as advertised. While the initial days looked dreamy, some drivers repent of having bought a vehicle and paying the <keyword id="6357050" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="emi">EMI</keyword> now. The earnings have gone below expectations and now the chauffeurs need to work very hard to make ends meet. The drivers have often protested but to no effect. And this is where a new cab hailing service <keyword id="4638372" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="sewa-cab">Sewa Cab</keyword>s had come up. Offering a tariff much lower than Ola and Uber, Sewa Cabs is run by drivers’ union in Delhi. The drivers conceived and soft-launched SEWA CAB on the first of May as the cheapest cab service in India with fares starting at just Rs.5 per k.m. Full launch will take place in the first half of July. Terming its model as ultra-low cost and independent of external funding, this promises to give power back to the drivers and liberate them from Ola and Uber while ensuring reliable, secure and affordable service to passengers. As opposed to 27% commission deducted by others from the driver’s earnings translating into more than Rs.15, 000 per month, Sewa Cab uses a subscription model with a fixed monthly fee of Rs.700. In other words, it will charge just a little over 1% of the driver’s earnings and still stay in black. This service has also introduced “Street Hail”. One can simply hail a cab on the street and still enjoy fares lower than any other cab operator in the country. More than 100+ drivers are signing up for Sewa Cabs on a daily basis. Commenting on his views on viability, the founder of Sewa Cabs, <keyword id="201896" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="rakesh-agarwal">Rakesh Agarwal</keyword> told <keyword id="824043" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Business-Insider">Business Insider</keyword>, “Our first step is to make people used to Sewa Cabs. And in a few years, Ola and Uber would be out of completion. Then we would start charging a bit higher tariff. “ Before deciding the fares, we spoke to hundreds of drivers. They all said that the average fare works out to Rs.15 even though the fare advertised by Ola and Uber is Rs.6 per k.m. “In order to compete against them effectively, the drivers unanimously suggested that we keep our fares at par with them,” he added. Sewa Cabs takes pride in the fact that it is owned and governed by the drivers through a nine member governing body – all of them are cab drivers. Apart from lower commission to be paid to aggregator, the drivers would be trained on various aspects of life. Apart from that drivers would be provided proper guidance on relaxing from days’ work. While <keyword id="781" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="agarwal">Agarwal</keyword> himself is quite positive about the endeavour, what made us feel worried is that passenger issues haven’t been taken care of. Speaking to Business Insider, Agarwal said, the customer care will also be by the drivers’ union and this is where it gets worrisome. We have seen how auto-rickshaw unions don’t advice drivers on charging above meter and refusals. And it’s the irate auto rickshaw drivers that have buoyed cab hailing service in most urban metros. Of the leading cab hailing services, most of them have a well managed social media response team with whom you can get in touch at any point of the day over most major issues. Moreover, it’s not always a cheap mode of transport. <keyword id="624" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Women">Women</keyword> in Indian urban cities alarmed by rise in the incidents of women harassment look for a reliable mode of conveyance. While autos hardly go by meter, it’s cab they trust upon, which again have precedence of not-so-decent treatment to women. Sewa Cabs could have fared really good had they prioritized womens’ safety and not just drivers safety.”

Watch out Ola and Uber: This cab-hailing start up by drivers believe they can start profiting  in a year's time

<ul><li>India could be one of the first countries to get the <keyword id="6396317" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hyperloop">Hyperloop</keyword>. </li><li>A lot more work, such as feasibility testing and investments, remains to be done before a working Hyperloop can be established. </li><li>Virgin wants to build and operate the Hyperloop here by 2024.</li></ul> Sitting on the cusp of the future, it's easy to overlook what's in the present. The <keyword id="6366797" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Delhi-Metro">Delhi Metro</keyword> is far from complete, but it's already nearing obsolescence, with <keyword id="90149" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bullet-trains">bullet trains</keyword> and Hyperloops on our minds. Transportation was the cornerstone of the industrial revolution, and many have said that <keyword id="6355315" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Elon-Musk">Elon Musk</keyword>'s brainchild, the Hyperloop, will lead us into a new world. At its core, the Hyperloop is a conception that combines aeroplanes and Maglev trains. The proposed, and now tested, concept runs inside vacuum thereby reducing friction to the point where you can be faster on land than in the air. However, it could be too early to get serious about this concept in India. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 Wait but why? Much like many of our other goals, Hyperloop One (now <keyword id="5988218" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Virgin-Hyperloop-One">Virgin Hyperloop One</keyword>) also plans to begin operations by 2020 in India. In fact, when the company shared its "<a href="https://www.digit.in/general/build-it-bring-it-interview-with-nick-earle-svp-hyperloop-one-33982.html">vision for India</a>" last year, it said freight transport on Hyperloops should start by 2020-21, while passenger travel would take another year. The company changed this target to 2024 when it signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government of Maharashtra. That alone makes it difficult to actually get excited about the MoU. Sure, a lot can happen in the next two years, but a lot can go wrong as well. For instance, we haven't allocated land for building Hyperloops yet, even on the proposed Mumbai-Pune corridor. Land acquisition has often been the biggest hurdle for development activities in India. Acquiring land clearances was one of the main reasons for the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/land-acquisition-hurdles-make-delhi-metro-miss-phase-iii-deadline-3048750/">missing</a> its 2016 deadline for construction in Phase III. 
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	
	<div type="image" title="image_01" msid="63203990" hostid="261" align="none"><payload><![CDATA[Land Acquisition remains the logistical bottleneck for Hyperloop in India]]></payload></div>
























































Land Acquisition remains the logistical bottleneck for Hyperloop in India What is the Hyperloop? Admittedly though, that's just conjecture. What's more interesting is an examination of what the Hyperloop actually is. Sure, it's a land-based transportation system that can theoretically travel faster than aircraft. Yet, it's not a transport system for masses. Virgin claims that it will cater to about 150 million (15 crores) people per year, which is significantly <a href="http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/from-100-to-250-daily-trains-chug-ahead-as-infrastructure-struggles-to-keep-pace-4741079/">less</a> than the footfall at the Pune Railways Station, reported at 170,000 per day back in 2017. The numbers would look even more overwhelming if compared to the Indian railways. But that's just the point. Hyperloop doesn't aim to be a mass transit system. It's a fast, but niche transit system. Virgin's target numbers are not without significance, but a truly mainstream transportation system would aim for more, especially in India. Work in Progress... Topping off the above is where the Virgin Hyperloop actually stands. The company has conducted successful tests of its pods on the test track in Nevada. Yet, the Hyperloop is far from achieving its theoretical top speeds. Granted that the top speeds aren't particularly necessary to begin operations, a functional Hyperloop concept still doesn't exist anywhere in the world. In fact, the proposed Mumbai-Pune circuit is yet to undergo feasibility tests ensuring a track is actually possible. Between now and 2024, Virgin's Hyperloop One will be conducting these tests, gaining new partners and perhaps even hoping for government subsidies. Silver lining... India could be the first to incorporate Hyperloops in its transportation systems. Documents leaked from Hyperloop One in 2016 revealed that a 107-mile (172.2 km) loop would cost $13 billion. For the 140 km (approx. 87 miles) track between Mumbai and Pune, this cost has been estimated at around $310 million. Cheap, isn't it? That's one of the major advantages of the Hyperloop system. It's not only a futuristic system, it's a futuristic system that (to the end user) costs just as much as a cab ride. If the loop runs at maximum capacity regularly, Hyperloop One could be looking at achieving profits within five years, something most public transport systems fail to do. Should India look forward to it? The answer to that question would depend on what India is for you. In the beginning, the Hyperloop will probably be a system meant for businesses. It could help reduce freight times drastically and eventually move to passenger transport. When it does, it will take you between Mumbai to Pune in under 25 minutes. For most of India, the Hyperloop will remain a pipe dream for the time being. Even if it is built by 2024, it will likely become a way for the powers that be to toot their horn, at least initially. At its core, the Hyperloop is indeed capable of great things, but greatness was never achieved on conjecture alone. The central problem with this entire system today is that it's all a tad too theoretical, and that makes it difficult to actually take it seriously. After years of public spotlight, it still remains to be seen if Hyperloop can live upto its unending hype.

Here is why it’s too early to be excited about Hyperloop in India

Getting to the airport can be a costly venture that tacks on to your trip budget, so it's wise to plan ahead and know just how much that cab will cost you.
Cheap Flights released an infographic that <a href="http://www.cheapflights.ca/travel/taxi-fares-around-the-world/">compares the cost of a taxi ride to the airport in major cities around the world</a>.
It should come as no surprise that the most expensive taxis are in Japan: It costs a whopping $214.53 to travel from Japan's Narita International Airport to Tokyo.
The cheapest cab fare is in India: It costs a mere $8.67 to travel from Indira Gandhi International Airport to Delhi.
See the full infographic below:

You Searched For "cheap cabs in delhi" and got 5 results

9 unusual facts about Uber that will make your ride convenient

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Watch out Ola and Uber: This cab-hailing start up by drivers believe they can start profiting in a year's time

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Here is why it’s too early to be excited about Hyperloop in India

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