The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc.

alpha1 · 14th July 2015, 16:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by faithless_1984

Great points Vigkey ! Maybe all the talk about a bubble is true.

A new startup has already entered the market in a more organized way !

http://inc42.com/buzz/ola-uber-faile...he-delhi-govt/

Hate repeating myself but:

Quote:

Originally Posted by alpha1

What is the purpose behind govt regulated taxi permits?
So that antisocial elements are eliminated from becoming drivers and becoming serial robbers/stalkers/rapists/killers?

So based on the URL link you have mentioned, should we assume that taxi permits also means the permit holder has been trained by the Department of Transportation?
Hah!

Octane_Power · 14th July 2015, 23:31

Just now got an SMS from Uber which says one can now pay for one's rides using a credit card.

-Bhargav

JD1 · 17th July 2015, 17:19

TaxiForSure has reduced per km rates in Bangalore and Pune.
For Bangalore hatchback will now be Rs 6 per km and sedan will be Rs 8 per km after base fare of 49 and 75 respectively.
For Pune it's Rs 7 and Rs 9 per km respectively for hatchback and sedan after base fare of 49.
Per minute ride time charge of Rs 1.5 per minute still applies. They claim to have removed night time charges and other surcharges (I guess that means peak time charges are removed).

So the USP of TFS that was of short rides is no longer applicable and it's more competitively priced with Uber. Sadly, customer service is another story.

Bangalore - http://blog.taxiforsure.com/bengalur...cab-at-rs-6km/

Pune - http://blog.taxiforsure.com/pune-now...-is-at-rs-7km/

Edit: The base fare includes 2 kms of travel.

ameyawaghmare · 18th July 2015, 04:31

Ola/Uber etc. have successfully made the taxi drivers as well as customers get habituated to the cab concept. Consumers will create demand for more taxis, and there would be taxi drivers willing to earn a big buck by catering to the demand of these customers. These companies have virtually expanded the marketplace of taxis by increasing demand and supply. They can simply sit and keep collecting their money which is only going to increase with time unless any disruptive innovation comes out.

Just like we had a dot-com-boom bubble around 2000, a financial/economic bubble around 2007, VCs/investors seem to be in the same mood around this time! Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was skeptical about the entire business model of Flipkart and the likes of these start-ups that are spending investor's money without any real profits or positive cash flows.

Maybe, there is a lot of black money across the world that has reached VCs/PEs that needs to be converted to white along with a steady income in future.

Having said this, I guess the long term prospects are extremely positive for this business. I see parallels with the FMCG industry of the '60s here. Consider the coming 10 years itself. If using a cab has become a norm, a habit, a section of the population isn't really going to bother much about the base fare and minor charges. Imagine the number of people who would use these services, I am sure the last 2 years itself must have seen an explosive % rise in the number of users/trips/revenues. Imagine the money being spent all across the nation on auto-rickshaws, cycle-rickshaws, shared cabs/6-seaters, etc. Consider the self-drive rentals that are gaining popularity discouraging a section of population from buying cars, more stringent drink and drive checks and a public awareness that makes it compulsory for all bar-hoppers to use cabs. Even getting 25% share of this entire market would be a huge number.
And if there is an oligopoly with only 2/3 large players, say Ola who now owns TFS and Uber, they have easily made their bucks...
I don't wish to go about the more scary part that bothers me, which is about data that all these companies generate. They know your whereabouts, your frequency of airport commutes, your address, your workplace, your name and phone number, your Facebook/LinkedIn that informs them about your personal and professional life. If anyone has to market any B2C product, you know these companies can give you the real time data about your target audience! Or with these data, the VCs can opt for more businesses in the B2C space. Google, Amazon might have a chunk-load of your online data. But, Ola, Foodpanda etc. have your real life data on where you travel, what you eat and your overall lifestyle preferences. These guys can analyze and probably get to know more about you than what you know about yourselves. I understand this is very hypothetical stuff but the trends and future possibilities hint that owning data gives power.

On a different note, the current Foodpanda discounts on food delivery serves as another example of VC money and new business models. If you haven't heard/read/used it, please do so immediately and you may abuse it till the time it is valid!

hserus · 20th July 2015, 13:23

New and scary Ola episode in Jodhpur - unkempt looking driver drives a lady passenger supposedly to the airport - a road she is familiar with - but actually starts driving her off to some lonely road 25 km from the city.

Meanwhile she called her husband, who called Ola - who kept saying "they were trying" and couldn't do much else other than shout for help with no other vehicle in sight.

Luckily she managed to attract the attention of a passing biker who - after some refusal from the driver - moved his bike in front of the cab and forced it to stop so she could get off and get her luggage out of the boot.

The driver drove off at some speed, Ola later tries to cross check with the driver who declares that "the lady is like a mother to him, he never did this" etc.

Summarizing the fb post here and only including a link for reference, because it contains some profanity that tbhp would find inappropriate.

https://www.facebook.com/ritu.baid/p...53150174318742

msdivy · 21st July 2015, 16:08

Ola to start shuttle bus services by aggregating tourist and chartered buses on its platform

Quote:

Taxi app Ola is preparing to offer shuttle bus services for urban commuters by aggregating tourist and chartered buses on its platform, to emerge as a complete urban transport solutions provider.

Ola will not own any buses but use available tourist and chartered buses to aggregate supply. "Passengers will be able to make bookings by entering the desired destination and time preference; the app will then indicate the closest bus with available seating."

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/48151440.cms

mpksuhas · 21st July 2015, 16:14

Another news reported regarding Uber.

Though, the behavior of driver is objectionable. Not sure what lead to the incident.

Link

hserus · 22nd July 2015, 03:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by msdivy

Ola to start shuttle bus services by aggregating tourist and chartered buses on its platform
Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...w/48151440.cms

Tourist and chartered buses are NOT allowed to provide inter city services in most parts of the country, and generally misuse their stage carriage licenses to provide point to point services.

The RTO / police regularly go around challaning / seizing such buses. And not just shady private operators running to small towns, even known "travels" operators as well.

So if you book using Ola and then this sort of thing happens ..

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/34499810.cms

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/c...w/47251652.cms

Landkruzer · 22nd July 2015, 09:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Another news reported regarding Uber.

Though, the behavior of driver is objectionable. Not sure what lead to the incident.

Link

Why cant the Uber/Ola implement something like a cockpit voice recorder, which records the conversation inside the car once the ride starts? At least this will act as a deterrent to the misbehaving drivers.

The apps running on the driver's phone itself could be used for recording the voice as well.

alpha1 · 22nd July 2015, 10:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Landkruzer

Why cant the Uber/Ola implement something like a cockpit voice recorder, which records the conversation inside the car once the ride starts? At least this will act as a deterrent to the misbehaving drivers.

The apps running on the driver's phone itself could be used for recording the voice as well.

The filp-side of the argument can be that the rider should start recording the conversation/happenings if (s)he has a perpetual inkling that some misfortune may strike while riding these Ola/Uber kind of cabs compared to black/yellow taxis or autos.

Eddy · 22nd July 2015, 10:59

My wife hailed an Uber from Delhi to Gurgaon and back.

Now, she was NOT charged the toll from Delhi to Gurgaon, but was charged in the evening from Gurgaon to Delhi.

She does not remember the driver paying any toll.

Is this ok ?

audioholic · 22nd July 2015, 11:13

Used Uber for a couple of times to go to the airport and come back. The prices were unbelievable, ~500 each time for a distance of 45kms whereas an equivalent Ola ride would have costed a lot more. This was including the toll. Ola would have cost me 580 + (15*15) 225 + ride time + toll charges for a sedan. That would have been nearly 900. New cars and all the drivers were well groomed and soft spoken compared to the ola drivers I have come across. Some Ola cabbies and their cars would be smelly too. Nothing of that sort here. Not sure until when this honeymoon period continues, but as of now its bye to Ola

Surprisingly, last evening when it was raining UberGo didn't have a surge pricing whereas UberX had a 1.2x. Not sure what this is based on.

Soumyajit9 · 22nd July 2015, 11:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddy

My wife hailed an Uber from Delhi to Gurgaon and back.

Now, she was NOT charged the toll from Delhi to Gurgaon, but was charged in the evening from Gurgaon to Delhi.

She does not remember the driver paying any toll.

Is this ok ?

Charged = She paid manually ?

Ideally all tolls are included in the bill email copy. It would be auto-debited from the wallet when the trip ends. The driver pays it at the toll booth.

If your wife paid manually to the driver to get the toll receipt, it is a double loss.
Check the bill email copy (which gives breakup) and see if it has a toll amount.

Eddy · 22nd July 2015, 11:28

No, she's been charged the toll as part of her bill and auto debited from Paytm.

But the driver did not stop to pay any toll charges ? So why should she be charged. AFAIK, there is not automated payment on the toll anymore.

And in any case, if it wasn't charged on the onward journey, how does it become chargeable in the return journey ?

Soumyajit9 · 22nd July 2015, 11:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eddy

No, she's been charged the toll as part of her bill and auto debited from Paytm.

But the driver did not stop to pay any toll charges ? So why should she be charged. AFAIK, there is not automated payment on the toll anymore.

And in any case, if it wasn't charged on the onward journey, how does it become chargeable in the return journey ?

Here in Bangalore we have this funny case.
Onward airport, one doesn't need to pay any toll. While returning to city from airport one needs to pay a toll though.

May be someone regular on this circuit would be able to tell us what is the toll system on the Delhi - Gurgaon expressway. Both way separate toll, single way toll, round trip toll ?

May be the driver had a personal automated toll pay device on his car.
May be he fills it in one go and reimburses from Uber at the end of the month.

14th July 2015, 23:31	#317
Octane_Power BHPian Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Mumbai Posts: 630 Thanked: 429 Times	Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc. Just now got an SMS from Uber which says one can now pay for one's rides using a credit card. -Bhargav
	() Thanks

17th July 2015, 17:19	#318
JD1 BHPian Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Bangalore Posts: 257 Thanked: 163 Times	Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc. TaxiForSure has reduced per km rates in Bangalore and Pune. For Bangalore hatchback will now be Rs 6 per km and sedan will be Rs 8 per km after base fare of 49 and 75 respectively. For Pune it's Rs 7 and Rs 9 per km respectively for hatchback and sedan after base fare of 49. Per minute ride time charge of Rs 1.5 per minute still applies. They claim to have removed night time charges and other surcharges (I guess that means peak time charges are removed). So the USP of TFS that was of short rides is no longer applicable and it's more competitively priced with Uber. Sadly, customer service is another story. Bangalore - http://blog.taxiforsure.com/bengalur...cab-at-rs-6km/ Pune - http://blog.taxiforsure.com/pune-now...-is-at-rs-7km/ Edit: The base fare includes 2 kms of travel. Last edited by JD1 : 17th July 2015 at 17:21.
	() Thanks

18th July 2015, 04:31	#319
ameyawaghmare BHPian Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pune Posts: 133 Thanked: 52 Times	Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc. Ola/Uber etc. have successfully made the taxi drivers as well as customers get habituated to the cab concept. Consumers will create demand for more taxis, and there would be taxi drivers willing to earn a big buck by catering to the demand of these customers. These companies have virtually expanded the marketplace of taxis by increasing demand and supply. They can simply sit and keep collecting their money which is only going to increase with time unless any disruptive innovation comes out. Just like we had a dot-com-boom bubble around 2000, a financial/economic bubble around 2007, VCs/investors seem to be in the same mood around this time! Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was skeptical about the entire business model of Flipkart and the likes of these start-ups that are spending investor's money without any real profits or positive cash flows. Maybe, there is a lot of black money across the world that has reached VCs/PEs that needs to be converted to white along with a steady income in future. Having said this, I guess the long term prospects are extremely positive for this business. I see parallels with the FMCG industry of the '60s here. Consider the coming 10 years itself. If using a cab has become a norm, a habit, a section of the population isn't really going to bother much about the base fare and minor charges. Imagine the number of people who would use these services, I am sure the last 2 years itself must have seen an explosive % rise in the number of users/trips/revenues. Imagine the money being spent all across the nation on auto-rickshaws, cycle-rickshaws, shared cabs/6-seaters, etc. Consider the self-drive rentals that are gaining popularity discouraging a section of population from buying cars, more stringent drink and drive checks and a public awareness that makes it compulsory for all bar-hoppers to use cabs. Even getting 25% share of this entire market would be a huge number. And if there is an oligopoly with only 2/3 large players, say Ola who now owns TFS and Uber, they have easily made their bucks... I don't wish to go about the more scary part that bothers me, which is about data that all these companies generate. They know your whereabouts, your frequency of airport commutes, your address, your workplace, your name and phone number, your Facebook/LinkedIn that informs them about your personal and professional life. If anyone has to market any B2C product, you know these companies can give you the real time data about your target audience! Or with these data, the VCs can opt for more businesses in the B2C space. Google, Amazon might have a chunk-load of your online data. But, Ola, Foodpanda etc. have your real life data on where you travel, what you eat and your overall lifestyle preferences. These guys can analyze and probably get to know more about you than what you know about yourselves. I understand this is very hypothetical stuff but the trends and future possibilities hint that owning data gives power. On a different note, the current Foodpanda discounts on food delivery serves as another example of VC money and new business models. If you haven't heard/read/used it, please do so immediately and you may abuse it till the time it is valid!
	(1) Thanks

20th July 2015, 13:23	#320
hserus Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Chennai Posts: 5,072 Thanked: 9,318 Times	Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc. New and scary Ola episode in Jodhpur - unkempt looking driver drives a lady passenger supposedly to the airport - a road she is familiar with - but actually starts driving her off to some lonely road 25 km from the city. Meanwhile she called her husband, who called Ola - who kept saying "they were trying" and couldn't do much else other than shout for help with no other vehicle in sight. Luckily she managed to attract the attention of a passing biker who - after some refusal from the driver - moved his bike in front of the cab and forced it to stop so she could get off and get her luggage out of the boot. The driver drove off at some speed, Ola later tries to cross check with the driver who declares that "the lady is like a mother to him, he never did this" etc. Summarizing the fb post here and only including a link for reference, because it contains some profanity that tbhp would find inappropriate. https://www.facebook.com/ritu.baid/p...53150174318742
	(2) Thanks

21st July 2015, 16:14	#322
mpksuhas Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: KA03/KL11 Posts: 4,146 Thanked: 8,403 Times View My Garage	Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc. Another news reported regarding Uber. Though, the behavior of driver is objectionable. Not sure what lead to the incident. Link
	() Thanks

22nd July 2015, 10:59	#326
Eddy Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Singapore Posts: 9,558 Thanked: 14,517 Times	Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc. My wife hailed an Uber from Delhi to Gurgaon and back. Now, she was NOT charged the toll from Delhi to Gurgaon, but was charged in the evening from Gurgaon to Delhi. She does not remember the driver paying any toll. Is this ok ?
	() Thanks

22nd July 2015, 11:13	#327
audioholic Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: BengaLuru Posts: 5,954 Thanked: 21,219 Times	Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc. Used Uber for a couple of times to go to the airport and come back. The prices were unbelievable, ~500 each time for a distance of 45kms whereas an equivalent Ola ride would have costed a lot more. This was including the toll. Ola would have cost me 580 + (1515) 225 + ride time + toll charges for a sedan. That would have been nearly 900. New cars and all the drivers were well groomed and soft spoken compared to the ola drivers I have come across. Some Ola cabbies and their cars would be smelly too. Nothing of that sort here. Not sure until when this honeymoon period continues, but as of now its bye to Ola Surprisingly, last evening when it was raining UberGo didn't have a surge pricing whereas UberX had a 1.2x. Not sure what this is based on. Last edited by audioholic : 22nd July 2015 at 11:14.*
	() Thanks

22nd July 2015, 11:28	#329
Eddy Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Singapore Posts: 9,558 Thanked: 14,517 Times	Re: The Indian Taxi Revolution - Uber, Ola, TaxiforSure, Meru etc. No, she's been charged the toll as part of her bill and auto debited from Paytm. But the driver did not stop to pay any toll charges ? So why should she be charged. AFAIK, there is not automated payment on the toll anymore. And in any case, if it wasn't charged on the onward journey, how does it become chargeable in the return journey ?
	() Thanks