[mohammedismail]

Meanwhile !

Numerous taxi drivers affiliated to the multi-national taxi aggregating app, Uber, gathered in protest against the company here on Tuesday alleging discrepancies in payments.

A cab driver at the protest told The Hindu that there was “big disparity” between the amount promised to the drivers and that being given. “For the past four weeks, we have not received our weekly payment or incentives. There are some drivers who are yet to get Rs. 20,000. We cannot afford to run our taxis until the company pays up,” he said.

Though the bills given to passengers feature many surcharges, the drivers claim that they do not receive any of the incentives promised for peak-hour driving or for the night. A group of drivers even went to the Ashoknagar police station to submit a petition against the aggregator.

When contacted, a spokesperson from Uber denied the charges saying all payments have been made as promised. They refused to comment further.

Source

[narayan]

I am seriously thinking if I should convert my Vista into a taxi and attach it with Uber because the payout is very good as per many drivers. I just need a reliable driver to manage the vehicle.

Does anyone know what is the process to convert a private vehicle into a taxi ?

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by narayan

I just need a reliable driver to manage the vehicle.

And that, my friend, is your biggest problem. Drivers have become hard to come buy even for transporters with fleets, post OLA/UBER.

[anky]

Originally Posted by narayan

Does anyone know what is the process to convert a private vehicle into a taxi ?

And that my friend is the second hurdle , my BIL being in the private taxi business here in mumbai , the licence involves a lot of paper work and bureaucracy .

[balajisv]

Couple of days back encountered this incident.

My colleague had booked an UberGo cab. The cab was 8 minutes away. She went out of office and was waiting for the cab to arrive. After some 10 minutes, the cab doesn't arrive and she calls the driver. He says he is stuck in traffic and would reach in other 5 minutes and asks not to cancel the ride. Post 5-7 minutes, she calls the driver again only to hear same story and the driver reiterates not to cancel the ride.
Almost frustrated now, she waits for couple more minutes and to her horror, finds that the app shows she is 'en route'!

In the meanwhile, I happen to meet her. She told me the entire story. I immediately shared her ride status to me to check the car location. The car was atleast 2 kms away and moving in opposite direction.

I called the driver to check why he is moving away from our pickup location and how he started the trip without we boarding the cab. He said he started the trip by mistake.

I felt something is fishy and canceled the trip.
My colleague was not charged for that trip cancelation.

Anyone experienced such incidents?

[SunnyBoi]

Originally Posted by balajisv

Couple of days back encountered this incident.

My colleague had booked an UberGo cab. The cab was 8 minutes away. She went out of office and was waiting for the cab to arrive. After some 10 minutes, the cab doesn't arrive and she calls the driver. He says he is stuck in traffic and would reach in other 5 minutes and asks not to cancel the ride. Post 5-7 minutes, she calls the driver again only to hear same story and the driver reiterates not to cancel the ride.
Almost frustrated now, she waits for couple more minutes and to her horror, finds that the app shows she is 'en route'!

In the meanwhile, I happen to meet her. She told me the entire story. I immediately shared her ride status to me to check the car location. The car was atleast 2 kms away and moving in opposite direction.

I called the driver to check why he is moving away from our pickup location and how he started the trip without we boarding the cab. He said he started the trip by mistake.

I felt something is fishy and canceled the trip.
My colleague was not charged for that trip cancelation.

Anyone experienced such incidents?

This is become quite common with Uber, usually around 11-11.30PM. Only way to prevent this menace is by reporting these erring drivers and hope Uber takes strict action on them.

If you cancel the ride, you'll be charged some 100rs. That's the trick that cabbies use to force you to cancel. If they cancel for not coming, they will be charged some money/loss of incentive so they'll cook up some story saying stuck in traffic, on the way etc. Just report such erring drivers.

[Samurai]

A very interesting article from Linkedin about Uber vs Government clash in NYC.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-...-brian-ruddock

[sudev]

Which Indian journalist would have the will and clarity of objective to analyse Uber vis Indian governance? Nice article shows babudom all over the world works to gather control

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by balajisv

Couple of days back encountered this incident.

I called the driver to check why he is moving away from our pickup location and how he started the trip without we boarding the cab. He said he started the trip by mistake.

I felt something is fishy and canceled the trip.
My colleague was not charged for that trip cancelation.

Anyone experienced such incidents?

Not exactly the same. But once when I got down, i forgot to confirm whether the 'End Trip' was done. After 10-15 min, when I did not get the trip complete confirmation email, I logged in to the App and to my surprise noted that it was still showing the trip active and the driver had moved 4-5km. I called him and asked why he did not end the trip. he said there was some problem and he was close by only-This was a lie as the tracking showed him 5-6 km away. Immediately after I disconnected, the trip showed as ended.

I immediately raised a complaint and they refunded back the excess amount after clarifying a few things.

[alpha1]

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 ?

No idea about the situation there, but ALL taxis everywhere operate on simple principles. Tarrif/Fare is fixed and all entry/tolls/parking charges are paid by the rider. (And the rider gets to keep the bills).
If you are not being asked to pay the toll, then the driver has paid the bill and kept the bill for himself, and adjusted it in the total travel fare.

Originally Posted by Samurai

A very interesting article from Linkedin about Uber vs Government clash in NYC.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-...-brian-ruddock

Well, so the article ultimately does answer what I have been asking time and again:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post3744134
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post3753300

Answer: Licensing exists to protect the incumbent.
I read that Taxi medallions in New York are held by large corporate houses!


In fact allow me to reproduce a text I read by Irvin Tucker ():
... Flashback to the 1920s, when New York taxicabs
were competitive. There was no limit on the
number of taxis, and hack licenses were only $10. In addition
to a low barrier to entry, taxis engaged in price competition.
Cabbies could choose among three different flags to attach to
their cars. A red flag cab charged a surcharge for extra
passengers. A white flag signaled no surcharge for extra
passengers. A green flag meant the cabbie was offering a
discount fare. Price wars often erupted, and the vast majority
of cabbies flew green flags and charged bargain fares. One
strategy was to fly the red flag (high rate) during rush hour
and the green flag to offer discounts at off-peak times
Taxi companies also offered a variety of cabs—old, new, big,
and small.

As years passed, the system changed because of the
concern that competition was causing an overabundance of
taxis that congested city streets. The solution was to create a
monopoly by law in 1937 designed to limit the number of cabs
by requiring all cabs accepting street hails to be painted yellow
and possess a medallion on the hood of the taxi. Currently, the
Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) sets rates and imposes
regulations. There are no price wars and the barrier to entry is
high due to the high price of medallions. Today, the aluminum
badge that confers the right to pick up passengers on the street
costs more than $600,000, as determined at infrequent
auctions. Because of their high prices, most cabs are owned by
investment companies and are leased to the drivers.

[sudev]

The toll is for entry to Delhi not for exit.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by alpha1

If you are not being asked to pay the toll, then the driver has paid the bill and kept the bill for himself, and adjusted it in the total travel fare.

I am fine if this is the case. But the questions are:

- Why toll for only one way ? Sudev says this so I guess that answers it.

Originally Posted by sudev

The toll is for entry to Delhi not for exit.

- The driver did not stop to pay for the toll, and he did not have a tag for automatic toll deduction. So if he did not pay, why charge me ?

[born_free]

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 ?

Commercial vehicles are required to pay MCD tax on entering Delhi from Gurgaon. This is applicable for both routes NH8 and MG Road. While entering Gurgaon Tax is not collected.

[reverse_gear]

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 ?

Commercial vehicles have to pay an entry tax every time they cross the border into Delhi. I presume this is what is being charged. If the driver did not pay cash, then he would either have a monthly pass, or just busted the system and driven through without paying.

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by Eddy

- The driver did not stop to pay for the toll, and he did not have a tag for automatic toll deduction. So if he did not pay, why charge me ?

I'd written a polite one liner to Uber explaining the situation to them. The toll charges was refunded promptly to the Paytm wallet.

This was quick and hassle free