[GrammarNazi]

Current surge system is demand based.

IMO surge pricing should be made offer based.

As-in, consumers should be allowed to have the option to make a predetermined rate offer surge.

Also, a cap on surge rates at 3x of advertised price is reasonable.

These cabs are most often cost me >20/km. During high surge, they should start offering value added services like WiFi for free.

Many may disagree, but there is a discomfort with surge-method in its present form. It needs to be presented better.

Hope competition keeps up a genuine price & quality check.

[DCEite]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Yes.

But it works perfectly most places across the World. I ve used the Uber services extensively in America, parts of Scandinavia and Singapore, Jakarta and KL etc, apart from the other countries like UAE, Australia, Philippines etc.

Im usually on Int. Roaming so either I call the guy or he calls if need be. Sometimes they just message via text. But mostly, since the "mapping" and "location services" in Foreign countries are quite accurate, it is not difficult for the Uber driver to find you.

It isn't all that difficult these days being able to do International calls.
Not like how it was say, some 10-15 years ago when you would hesitate to even switch on your phone while travelling outside.

Most of the Big Mobile companies like Vodafone and Airtel offer some very decent packages which help control your costs. All we need to do is to be selective in switching on the mobile data specifically for Uber and the like and as far as possible use Wi Fi for FB updates, email downloads and all that. Notifications can of course, be turned off so that they don't eat into data usage.

Frankly these packages are far better than even the much touted Matrix etc.

Indeed, some years back I noticed Matrix ends up being much more expensive and there is no guarantee that Data will work properly.

Hence I completely stopped taking Matrix cards.

There is nothing quite as convenient as having your own number work for you world wide.

Luckily the costs are getting more and more democratised all the time so it is good for the consumer.

Suppose my method of payment is Paytm, in India.

Now I roam to, let's say France.

1) Would I be able to use same Uber login in France as I do in India?

2) Would it be possible to make ride payments using the same method as I use in India, I.e., Paytm wallet / Indian credit card ?

[Marshall]

Originally Posted by A M

Has happened twice with me now.
Was paying by cash both times but the charges were added to the next bill and had to pay the amount to the other driver.

In such incidents, you can always raise a claim and get back cancellation charges.

[narayan]

Originally Posted by DCEite

Suppose my method of payment is Paytm, in India.

Now I roam to, let's say France.

1) Would I be able to use same Uber login in France as I do in India?

2) Would it be possible to make ride payments using the same method as I use in India, I.e., Paytm wallet / Indian credit card ?

You can use same log in but Paytm won't work outside India. Just get your India credit card added as a payment option and choose that.

Also if you are taking a local SIM, you can update your mobile number in the app in case you are trying to call the driver.

[Sujoy Mukherjee]

You can use Uber. All you need to do is update your phone number to the country you are in so that the local driver can call you up. Not sure about Paytm, but you surely can use an Indian credit or debit card. For debit card the international usage needs to be enabled. Once you are back you can update your phone number to the Indian one.

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Also, a cap on surge rates at 3x of advertised price is reasonable.

Many may disagree, but there is a discomfort with surge-method in its present form. It needs to be presented better.

+1. A cap can be made at a figure that is not loss inducing for the cab driver and the company and at the same time digestible by the customer too. It helps one plan better in the eventuality of maximum surge also and the customer is informed about the maximum amount of money that he eneds to pay for the journey. I have faced this a couple of times at the Delhi airport after arriving in the late evening (8-10 PM). I stopped calling the car from home since UBER and OLA arrived as they offered a more practical solution at an affordable price. Now once the discounts are over, I am still comfortable to pay them the regular fare or upto 2x surge. But twice it happened that the surge was around 3.6-4x and that brought the cost of the taxi ride to Rs. 1200-1400 which is atrocious for me. I am better off calling my own car in that case. So this suspense around how much surge will be prevalent is now forcing me to not bank upon them for such trips.

Also since most drivers have got both Ola and Uber contracts these days, they (or the companies via a larger nexus) intentionally make sure that only one service provider's cabs are available at a time at the airport in the late evening hours. This creates a false shortage and increases the surge pricing. I cannot believe otherwise that at a buzzing place like arrivals hall of Delhi airport, there would be a shortage of cabs at any time.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by drmohitg

+1. A cap can be made at a figure that is not loss inducing for the cab driver and the company and at the same time digestible by the customer too. It helps one plan better in the eventuality of maximum surge also and the customer is informed about the maximum amount of money that he eneds to pay for the journey. I have faced this a couple of times at the Delhi airport after arriving in the late evening (8-10 PM). I stopped calling the car from home since UBER and OLA arrived as they offered a more practical solution at an affordable price. Now once the discounts are over, I am still comfortable to pay them the regular fare or upto 2x surge. But twice it happened that the surge was around 3.6-4x and that brought the cost of the taxi ride to Rs. 1200-1400 which is atrocious for me. I am better off calling my own car in that case. So this suspense around how much surge will be prevalent is now forcing me to not bank upon them for such trips.

Not getting into the surge debate, but I have learnt from experience not to depend on these cabs for Airport/Railway station trips. More so, if it's early morning or late night. These days, I simply use my neighbourhood cabbie. It costs me 2x, but that's it. I don't need to be worried about availability and surge.

[sdp1975]

From http://www.bangaloremirror.com/banga...w/52822954.cms

Ola drivers are said to get incentives for making 15 trips daily. "So what the drivers are doing is they call the customer and ask the pickup point. If they feel this is far from their present location, they ask customers to cancel the trip.If customers refuse, drivers start the trip and end it after 2 kilometres so they can get their incentives," said Kaul. In the meantime,he said, customers keep getting notifications for trips they never take.

[TD_GHY]

Two changes Uber and Ola need to make to their policies

1. Make incentives dependent on number of kilometers driven. That way, they will be compensated well for airport trips unlike now.

2. Make the passenger start the trip from the app after getting into the cab rather than the driver. The driver will get a notification when the passenger starts the trip and accordingly, he can start driving. This way, high handedness by drivers can be avoided. Also, relieves the customer care from handling complaints by users and necessity to make refunds.

[GrammarNazi]

IMO surge should really be the customers offer, not just the drivers/Apps' demand.

If surge is 3x, but my offer is max 2x, driver & customer both decide if they should negotiate thru the app, or move on to other customer/modes of transport. This saves precious time lost in searching a cab.

And many drivers are really nice people, we should also be allowed to tip the driver through the app (service industry allows tips) apart from just ratings.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

And many drivers are really nice people, we should also be allowed to tip the driver through the app (service industry allows tips) apart from just ratings.

Give him good old cash. I'm sure he'd prefer that any extras are off the system

[cpbopanna]

Uber has cleverly increased the base amount on all cabs (in Bangalore, at least).
I am not sure if this is applicable only at night times or the same charges prevail even during the day.

The current base prices (at 11:40 pm) are as follows:

Uber GO: Rs. 50 (from Rs. 35 earlier)
Uber X: Rs. 75 (from Rs. 40 earlier)
Uber XL: Rs 80 (I do not know how much it was earlier!)

In the day time, when I check the base fares, it is masked for Uber Go and Uber X.
Also, of late, I do not remember seeing 'surge pricing' any more!

Is this Uber's way of 'complying' with the law?

Two days ago, I hired a Uber XL for a 6.04 km journey, ride time 11.25 minutes; the total damages - Rs. 194.
It works out to Rs. 32/km, still way above the government fixed Rs. 19/km (I wonder whether the Rs. 19/km is applicable to an Innova as well!)

Bottom line is if the number of passengers is more than 4, it is CHEAPER to hire TWO Uber Go cabs than ONE Uber XL!
I learnt that the hard way!

[Mistakenguy]

Originally Posted by zzzehar

You probably won't need Uber in Singapore. The cabs are easily available and can be flagged down. The drivers are well versed with addresses and it doesn't cost much either. The blue colored Hyundai Sonata Embera is the entry level cab and there are quite a few of them everywhere you go in Singapore.

Thanks zzzehar! Have been to Singapore before and have used the regular cabs a lot. Wanted to try out Uber.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Yes.

But it works perfectly most places across the World. I ve used the Uber services extensively in America, parts of Scandinavia and Singapore, Jakarta and KL etc, apart from the other countries like UAE, Australia, Philippines etc.

Thanks

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

Off-topic, but once you try the Metro in SIngapore your desire to use cabs may evaporate, unless you are doing a long or late trip

Cabs will be mostly used late nights only. Planning on using the MRT for most other uses.

Originally Posted by rejeen

+1 to that. Metro is well connected. Also use one of the tourist metro cards or the regular top up cards if staying for 3 or more days. It'll come out to be cheap and convenient.

These cards can be used in buses also.

[alpha1]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

As-in, consumers should be allowed to have the option to make a predetermined rate offer surge.

So what you say is that the app should allow you to key in your offer of fare and let the driver's decide?
But that may waste a lot of time.

How do I know? Because almost a similar thing happens in Ola Auto. I select a place. The fares are fixed by the govt. The auto wallas in the vicinity see my offer and take decision whether to service the ride or not.
Many times I am left waiting for 15 minutes because no one in the vicinity was willing to take my "offer".

Ola and Uber's main USP is the EASE of getting the cab and tracking it.


But you have a point, and to prove it you can create a different model of taxi service for it!!

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

If surge is 3x, but my offer is max 2x, driver & customer both decide if they should negotiate thru the app, or move on to other customer/modes of transport. This saves precious time lost in searching a cab.

I am still skeptic, the way you have said - it will take even more time than what happens currently.
Current scheme is faster in implementation. Perhaps you are missing the view from the other side?

Say surge is 3X, and you refuse to book (because you are willing to pay only 2x = your offer).

There can be only two scenes here: (a) someone else is ready to book the cab at 3x, and thus he is serviced. (b) no one is ready to accept 3x surge, and therefore the surge prices come down

[centaur]

This morning I got an email from OLA on their new cancellation policy. Since Uber, I have seldom booked on Ola because the drivers just abruptly cancel their trips and have left me in the lurch many a times. While Uber has not sent me any email on their cancellation policy, I got to know from my better half that last time she cancelled a cab after booking, she got a message saying that 60 bucks would be charged on my next booking for the cancellation. Would have been good if Uber had sent me an email like Ola.

Anyway coming to the point, here is what the email says-

Sometimes ride requests are cancelled after a driver has arrived for pickup or is on the way. This leads to a loss of time and fuel for drivers while customers like you are waiting to make a booking.

Starting this month, if a booking is cancelled after 5 minutes, a cancellation fee will be applicable to compensate the driver. This will help drivers serve more bookings and get you more rides.

If you think a cancellation fee has been incorrectly charged, you can raise a query from the Support section on your Ola app.

Given this I understand that if a cab cancelled within 5 minutes, there will be no charges and anything more than that will be charged. Now, I am fine with this because I have always wondered how do they manage such last minute cancellation, but what I am thinking is will they compensate a user if the cabbie refuses a fare and suppose the user misses his bus/flight or maybe a movie for that matter?