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<ul><li>Ola and Uber asked to showcase their algorithms related to ride cancellations and surge pricing.</li><li>Order came after CCPA received numerous complaints of unfair trading practices.</li><li>According to a survey by LocalCircles, 71% of customers continue to face ride cancellation issues.</li></ul>As thousands of commuters find themselves at the mercy of Uber and Ola drivers via ride cancellations, cancellation charges, random surge pricing and long waiting times, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) was set to grill cab aggregators over their algorithms on Tuesday. The regulator, under its Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare, was set to ask cab-hailing platforms to showcase their algorithms related to ride cancellations and surge pricing, along with questioning them over other issues. The CCPA has received numerous complaints of unfair trading practices, such as cab drivers forcing riders to cancel trips that result in the customers paying the cancellation charge. The authority is of the view that old customers are being charged exorbitant rates while new riders are being wooed by low fares for the same distance. Despite the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020, 71 per cent customers say that ride cancellation issues by drivers continue, according to a survey by community-based social media platform LocalCircles last month. Over 45 per cent of app-based taxi consumers stated they were charged more than 1.5 times in surge pricing despite the threshold being set by the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020. The extortionist practices of some drivers to undertake private trips were reported by consumers as a major concern, the report said. As thousands of Indian riders continue to suffer from paying cancellation fees sans their faults, the ride-hailing major in Australia admitted that it made false or misleading statements in cancellation warning messages and taxi fare estimates, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC). Uber now faces $26 million (Australian dollars) in penalties for adopting those illegal practices. More than two million Australian consumers were shown the misleading cancellation warning. Envisioned to lessen the travel woes, cab-hailing platforms like Uber and Ola have come a long distance in India, but riders are increasingly facing more issues. Most of the time, Uber and Ola drivers ask the riders to reveal what fare the Uber app is showing, and then decide if they want to take the ride or not depending on the amount and if it is in cash, forcing the riders to cancel the ride. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/10-things-in-tech-its-about-to-get-ugly/articleshow/91440115.cms">10 Things in Tech: It's about to get ugly</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/meditation-app-calm-launched-a-contest-to-find-tiktoks-smoothest-voice-the-winner-will-be-paid-5000-to-narrate-a-story/articleshow/91441165.cms">Meditation app Calm launched a contest to find TikTok's 'smoothest voice' – the winner will be paid $5,000 to narrate a story</a>

Indian regulator to grill Ola and Uber over rising customer complaints

<keyword id="1042120" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="uber" source="Orion">Uber</keyword> on Thursday refuted a report that claimed the ride-hailing major planned to exit the Indian market and held discussions with potential buyers to sell its India business. Bloomberg reported that the US-based company explored selling the India business, but "suspended discussions after tech startup valuations cratered." In a statement shared with IANS, an Uber spokesperson said the company never explored exiting India -- not even for a minute -- and the report is "categorically false." "India is as important to Uber today as it was when we launched nine years ago. We are serving riders and drivers across more than 100 cities, hiring Indian talent aggressively, and planning for the next decade and beyond," the company spokesperson said. Uber competes with SoftBank-backed <keyword id="6354720" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola" source="Orion">Ola</keyword> in the country. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in April that it will expand its product offerings and its team in India. "We continue to expand the product offerings for the Indian consumer. Whether it is autos, motos or high-capacity vehicles or rentals, India has always been a very big part of the Uber journey," he said during the Virtual i3 summit organised by Times Bridge. Uber aims to expand its engineering talent in India to more than 1,000 people from 700 at present, he had announced. Last month, <keyword id="2502101" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="uber-india" source="Orion">Uber India</keyword>'s Director of Central Operations, Nitish Bhushan, said that they are "always striving to make driving with Uber a viable and attractive option for drivers and the recent hike in fares will directly boost their earnings per trip". To remove frustration for riders and drivers alike, the company is also showing trip destinations to drivers before they decide to accept the ride. "Drivers at the Uber advisory council meeting told us they would like more flexibility around payments. We are now showing drivers the mode of payment (cash or online) before the trip starts," the company said. To make the cash or online decision irrelevant, the company has also introduced a daily pay process for drivers. With these changes, the company said that they are also reinforcing their service quality expectations with drivers, especially in areas like cancellation and ensuring AC rides. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/most-underprivileged-women-are-keen-to-start-businesses-but-lack-skills-and-financial-know-how/articleshow/92411578.cms">Most underprivileged women are keen to start businesses but lack skills and financial know-how</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tata-consumer-sees-growth-on-the-back-of-starbucks-tea-and-salt/articleshow/92410036.cms">Tata Consumer sees growth on the back of Starbucks, tea and salt</a>

Uber dismisses report that said it's planning to sell off its India business

<ul><li><keyword id="1042120" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="uber" source="Orion">Uber</keyword> has announced a slew of measures aimed at making its drivers happy.</li><li>The measures include increased fares, notifications for destination and mode of payment and more.</li><li>The company has also announced that drivers who frequently cancel the rides will be penalized.</li></ul>Uber India has announced a slew of measures aimed at making the drivers happy amid soaring fuel prices and an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/bi-newsletter/how-indias-soaring-inflation-puts-more-burden-on-the-common-mans-pockets/articleshow/91672701.cms">unprecedented rise</a> in the country’s inflation rate. The new measures aimed at the drivers include increased fares across the country, a better payment schedule, showing drivers the destination before they accept the ride and more. Let’s take a look at the new measures announced by Uber. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Increased fares" comment="subhead" text="Increased fares">Increased fares</cmsannotation> Petrol and diesel prices are at an all-time high and Uber drivers have been <a href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/cab-auto-drivers-hyderabad-go-day-long-strike-164131">protesting</a> about the rising fuel prices and asking Uber to increase the fares. While Uber had already started <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/uber-announces-a-price-hike-of-12-for-cab-rides-in-delhi/articleshow/90793725.cms">increasing the fares</a> in parts of the country, it has now announced that the fares have been increased in all regions. The fares have reportedly been increased by around 15%. While this will make the drivers happy, it will come as a jolt to customers who are already stressed with the rising prices of essentials. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Destination" comment="subhead" text="Destination">Destination</cmsannotation> One of the most common questions that a driver asks you when you book a cab or auto is the destination. In ever-increasing instances, the driver cancels the ride or asks the customer to cancel the ride if they do not like the destination. To solve this, Uber has announced that drivers will be shown the trip destination before they accept the ride. This will come as good news to both drivers and customers. It is to be noted that this will only be visible to drivers who meet a predefined trip acceptance threshold, meaning drivers who often reject trips may not be shown the destination address. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Payment mode" comment="subhead" text="Payment mode">Payment mode</cmsannotation> “Cash ya online”, is another frequent question that we hear when we book a cab. To solve this, Uber will now show the driver the mode of payment before they accept the trip. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Payment schedule" comment="subhead" text="Payment schedule">Payment schedule</cmsannotation> In another step to ease the payment process, Uber has announced a daily pay process. As part of this, earnings from Monday to Thursday will be paid on the next day and the earnings from Friday to Sunday will be paid on Monday. In addition to all this, Uber has announced that repeated complaints against a driver for cancellation or not turning on the air conditioner will lead to penalties and restrictions on using the app. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/uber-announces-a-price-hike-of-12-for-cab-rides-in-delhi/articleshow/90793725.cms">Uber announces a 12% price hike for cab rides in Delhi as petrol, diesel prices skyrocket</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indian-government-accuses-ola-uber-and-other-aggregators-of-inflating-cab-prices-for-older-customers/articleshow/91488894.cms">Indian government accuses Ola, Uber and other aggregators of inflating cab prices for older customers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/how-a-group-of-youtubers-pranked-a-scam-call-centre-in-india-that-earns-18-million-per-year/articleshow/91463331.cms">Here's how a group of YouTubers pranked a scam call centre in India that makes $18 million per year</a>

Uber hikes fare across the country, starts showing destination and payment mode to drivers before they accept the trip

You must have by now heard about Ola and Uber planning to raise their fares. This comes as real bad news for all the commuters who had started relying heavily on Ola and Uber taxis for their daily commute, owing to their economical pricing over the exorbitant fares charged by local taxis and autos. However, it seems commute is going to be a big problem all over again. 
 
Both cab aggregators have announced they are increasing their prices in the lowest category of cabs - the bracket used mostly by the middle and upper- middle class commuters. 
 
In Delhi, where Ola was charging Rs 6 per km apart from the base fare of Rs 40 for its Micro cabs, it will now be charging almost double - Rs 12 per km after the first 20 km. 
 
Same is the case with Uber. In Delhi for instance, an UberGo commuter will now have to pay Rs 12 per km after the initial 20 km against Rs 6 per km they were paying before. 
 
In Pune, the cost has been fixed at Rs 15 per kilometre for UberGo rides beyond the first 15 km. For Vizag it’s Rs 12 per kilometre after first 15 km and for Kolkata, it is Rs 12 per km after first 10 km. 
 
Similarly the Ola commuters in Bangalore would also need to shell out Rs 12 per km as compared to Rs 6 all through the journey earlier. 
For Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, the fare scheme for Ola Micro is same as Bangalore. 
 
Both Ola and Uber have taken this move to earn profits, as per the news reports. However, this price war also poses the right opportunity for rivals like Meru Cabs to grab their share in the market. 
 
Interestingly, Meru is already giving discounts to customers. It has recently introduced Exactometer, a system where the rider needs to pay exactly the fare estimated before the start of the trip, to counter the disruptive fare rates of Ola and Uber. 
 
It remains to be seen how this steep fare hike will go down with customers, and who really will have the last laugh.

With fares almost
doubled, riding an Ola or Uber will no longer be your cheapest bet

New Delhi, Apr 13 () Ride-hailing major Ola on Monday said it has partnered with Haryana government to launch 'Ola Emergency' on its app in Gurugram to enable essential medical trips.The launch in Gurugram comes closely after Bengaluru, Vizag, Bhubaneshwar, Nashik and Varanasi. The company plans to expand the service to other major cities soon. The service allows riders to book non-COVID-19 medical trips, which do not require ambulance.With the implementation of the lockdown across the country to contain the spread of COVID-19, the government has allowed only people in essential services like healthcare, banking and media to commute."Ola Emergency is available in Gurugram starting today with a dedicated network of cars that are equipped with masks and sanitizers and will be operated by specially trained drivers. Over 100 hospitals have been mapped on to the app to provide the service to ensure that trips are made from homes to hospitals and vice-versa," Ola said in a statement.To book an 'Ola Emergency' cab, users can select the 'Ola Emergency' category and enter the drop location from a list of available hospitals in the city."Trips to hospitals for medical urgencies are unavoidable, even in the current times. With Ola Emergency, we are able to facilitate trips to and from hospitals across the city through the Ola app," an Ola spokesperson said.The service will be available 24x7 and will provide citizens with a reliable, convenient and safe transport solution for medical trips that do not require an ambulance, the spokesperson added.Ola said it is facilitating a clean and safe ride experience by ensuring that all registered driver-partners on the network are trained to follow proper sanitary measures, including wearing masks and frequent usage of hand sanitizers that cars have been equipped with."We will continue to work closely with various state governments to ensure that people across cities can avail this service to access essential medical care," the spokesperson said.Customers will be charged a nominal fare according to the rate card to compensate driver-partners for their services, Ola said. SR RUJ

COVID-19: Ola launches emergency cab service for essential medical trips in Gurugram

<ul><li><keyword id="97393" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Competition-Commission-of-India">Competition Commission of India</keyword> brushed off all the price allegations on the cab aggregators <keyword id="6354720" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ola">Ola</keyword> and <keyword id="1042120" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Uber">Uber</keyword> stating that the fares are algorithmically calculated. </li></ul><ul><li>The CCI rolled out a 13-page order discarding the allegation on the cab drivers for setting a floor price on resale and the alleged <keyword id="6743176" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Price-discrimination">price discrimination</keyword>. </li></ul><ul><li>The cab aggregators furnished a model that shows prices are determined algorithmically and dependant on various factors such as the time of the day and the destination points.</li></ul>India’s largest cab aggregators Ola and Uber were under fire for their pricing strategies, but the Competition Commision of India (CCI) has ruled that there was no incidence of wrong doing. The complaint was filed against ANI Technologies (Ola’s parent company), Uber India Systems, Uber BV (Based in the Netherlands) and Uber Technologies, the holding company of Uber Group. The complaint included Uber BV since it establishes the contract between taxi owners and does the payments and incentive to drivers, said the CCI <a href="https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/cci-rejects-price-fixing-allegations-against-ola-uber-3137091.html">report</a>. However, the fair trade regulator, CCI <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Companies/8hX4pI24jsrMUjoAMzJxuL/CCI-rejects-allegations-of-price-fixing-against-Ola-Uber.html">turned down</a> the allegations against the cab aggregators on Tuesday in its 13-page order saying that the drivers charging algorithmically calculated fares doesn’t imply that they were in collusion among themselves. Also, complaints that Ola and Uber are imposing a resale price maintenance system (setting a price higher than the price determined originally by the market forces) on drivers and the alleged price discrimination were brushed off. The cab aggregators have been criticized a lot lately due to the manipulation in fares. In clarification to the claimed price allegation, Ola and Uber have published their model that provides insight into how the price is calculated to the CCI. The model shows that the estimation is done based on large data sets deploying respective algorithms. Further, fares of rides also vary as per the traffic conditions in the area and the time of the day, leading to higher price value during the peak hours. As a result, the prices determined differ specific to each rider by the end of the trip. While the drivers may have quoted fares higher than what is calculated algorithmically, which was the case with the current allegations, but that doesn’t necessarily amount to collusion within the drivers. The CCI reported that the fares are dynamic in nature so there did not seem to be any floor price maintained by the drivers. The dynamic prices also hold some advantage to the regular customers because this might also lead you to a lower price than usual for a certain places as compared to the ones charged by the individual taxi drivers, which saves you a good deal of money. The order stated that there doesn’t appear to be any such agreement or alignment between the cab aggregators and their respective drivers or drivers mutually.

India's competition regulator finds Uber, Ola ‘not guilty’ of charging higher prices

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

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Shailesh Andrade/ReutersBhavish Aggarwal, chief executive of Uber's main rival in India, Ola</div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>Indian ride-hailing firm Ola will launch in London on February 10.</li><li>Like Uber, Ola lets users summon a cab via an app.</li><li>Uber is the most popular ridehailing service in the UK, but its continued presence in London has been threatened after the regulator declined to renew its license in the capital.</li><li>Despite being a competitor to Uber, Ola shares a major backer as it has taken funding from Japanese mega-investor SoftBank.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>London is getting yet another cab-hailing app.India's Ola is coming to the UK capital, more than a year after launching in other UK cities.Like Uber, Ola offers an easy-to-use app which lets passengers summon a private-hire cab at the click of a button.The underlying business model is also much the same, with drivers signing up as independent contractors to the app, which takes a cut of their fares. Ola isn't disclosing how much commission it's charging, but says it won't take any cut of London drivers' fares for the first six weeks of operating.Ola has been running a service in the UK since the summer of 2018 in regional cities including Birmingham, Coventry and Warwick. It landed its license to operate a service in London in July 2019, and confirmed its intention to expand <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ride-hailing-firm-ola-london-launch-after-uber-ban-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">its service to the UK capital in November</a>.The news brings Ola into competition with the raft of ridehailing services already operating in London, such as Uber, Bolt/Taxify, and Kapten.Like these incumbents, Ola is offering new users discounts for signing up to the app, as well the lower commission to lure in drivers.Although Ola says its service is differentiated from competitors and it works more collaboratively with regulators, that differentiation may not be particularly clear to consumers who now face a dazzling array of ridehailing apps to choose from.Ola's arrival in London also ups the pressure on Uber, which is the dominant ride-hailing service in the UK and counts London as its biggest European market.Uber has locked horns with London's transport regulator, Transport for London (TfL) for the past few years over safety issues around its service.In November, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-loses-london-licence-2019-11?r=US&amp;IR=T">Uber lost its license to operate in London</a> after the regulator found drivers operating fraudulently on its platform. The firm is appealing that decision but, if it loses, it will be forced to quit the capital.Ola declined to comment publicly when asked how it might avoid similar problems, but said it operated a 24/7 call centre for passengers with complaints. One source close to the firm told Business Insider that TfL had taken the robustness of Ola's safety measures and tech into account as part of its decision to grant an operating license.<h2>Ola and Uber share the same major investor</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image">Carlo Allegri/ReutersUber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.</div></div></div>Awkwardly, Ola and Uber share a major backer in Japanese mega-investor SoftBank.SoftBank invested almost $8 billion in Uber. It is thought to have invested a smaller amount in Ola although the total figure is unclear. Ola has raised $3.8 billion in funding to date.Simon Smith, head of Ola International said: "The overwhelmingly positive reception to Ola since launching in the UK in 2018 illustrates the significant demand from drivers, riders and communities. We are working closely with drivers to build a high quality and reliable service for Londoners. Launching in London is a major milestone for us and we are keen to offer a first class experience for all our customers."Axel Springer, Insider Inc.'s parent company, is an investor in Uber.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/10-up-and-coming-fintechs?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=uber&amp;itm_campaign=10-up-and-coming-fintechs-2"></a> <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-spacex-blew-up-rocket-on-purpose-2020-1">SpaceX and NASA just blew up a Falcon 9 rocket on purpose, and it has something to do with Apollo 1</a></h3> <div> </div> </div>

Ola, another SoftBank-backed cab startup, will launch in London just as Uber faces being booted from the city

<ul><li>Paid carpooling and ridesharing may be banned in Delhi by the committee in charge of reviewing the regulations of app-based cab operators. </li><li>Under the City Taxi Scheme 2017, permits only allow cab operators to pick up passengers from point A to point B, without any intermediary stops.</li><li>Considering Delhi’s parking, congestion and air quality problems, the fall out of such a ruling remains uncertain. </li></ul>The five-member committee currently reviewing the regulation of app-based cab operators like Uber and Ola in <keyword id="6358777" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="New-Delhi">New Delhi</keyword> is <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/auto/auto-news/cab-pool-rides-likely-to-be-banned-in-delhi/articleshow/65976950.cms?utm_source=ETTopNews&amp;utm_medium=HP&amp;utm_campaign=TN&amp;utm_content=23&amp;from=mdr">unlikely to rule in favour of paid carpools</a>. With the national capital’s <keyword id="71724" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="traffic-congestion">traffic congestion</keyword> problems and air quality issues, the consequences of this move may have ample environmental fallouts. Under the City Taxi Scheme 2017, cabs are only allowed to pick up and drop passengers from one point to the next. Currently legal provisions only allow buses to pick up other passengers along the route and make multiple stops. After effects Customers are going bear the ultimate brunt if the verdict rules in favour of banning of ride-sharing. Even if individuals choose to pay more and opt for solo rides, the increased congestion on the road with more people using individual cars, will add to the time opportunity cost. The increasing number of cars on the road could also spell worsening air quality in New Delhi. <a href="http://www.who.int/airpollution/data/cities/en/">According</a> to the World Health Organisation (WHO), Delhi has 292 micrograms per cubic meter of PM10 particles. That’s double the amount in Dakar, the second city on the list. The effect on the companies themselves is a different story. Recent reports <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/uber-ola-enter-slow-lane-in-2018/articleshow/65927443.cms">indicate</a> that while the absolute number of rides have been increasing, the companies are now growing at a slower rate. Experts believe that one of the reasons is the focus on ride-sharing. The ban could either be good for the companies if customers shift to solo rides. Or, bad if customers choose to shift to public transport altogether or find other alternative means of transportation. Other issues on the table In reviewing the regulations for cabs in the Indian national capital, the committee is also discussing the issue of green fuels and permits. Possible outcomes include enforcing that cabs only use fuels like CNG or LPG and providing proof of parking before applying for a permit. The biggest development to come is probably the tracking of cabs. Currently, cabs in the city aren’t monitored as they pick up and drop passengers. But the committee is considering adding GPS monitoring to the roster, not only for cabs in Delhi but for cabs that are registered in other states while operating within the city. For actual customers, the issues of greater relevance are the ‘panic’ button that will soon become a mandatory feature in cabs and putting a cap on the maximum fare that companies can charge from customers. If the scheme also goes through with its plan of limiting the number of cabs that can be put on call by a cab operator, the demand-supply disparity might even increase the overall prices in the market. The committee, that includes the transport minister Kailash Gahlot and Satyender Jain, a minister at the Public Works Department, is currently reviewing the City Taxi Scheme 2017, Licensing and Regulation of App-based Cab Aggregator Rules 2017 and app-based premium bus services. Sources have told Times of <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword> that this the committee is unlikely to rule in the favour of companies being allowed to operate ride-sharing in Delhi. They were originally supposed to come to a decision on Monday, but that has now be deferred to a date that is yet to be decided.

If Delhi has the worst air quality, why are paid carpool rides under the danger of getting banned?

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.”

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