[dheepak10]

Originally Posted by ragh_bhushan

Update:
Received call from Ola support. They informed me how the billing system works:

• CRN number is entered into the app to start the trip
• System captures the ODO reading
• At the time of drop-off, system again captures ODO reading
• You are billed for the time and distance traveled

I think they might be using the some sort of OBD instrument to capture the ODO readings.

I took an OLA outstation from Kolkata to Durgapur in Late Dec-2016.

The driver keyed in the ODO reading at the beginning of the trip after I gave him the CRN. At the end of the trip, he again keyed in the ODO readings.

[The Great]

I have had many good rides with Uber mainly, but that fateful night was horrible.

We returned from Ahmedabad and after landing at Mumbai airport we booked 2 cabs at about 10.05 pm. My father in law and mother in law got the first booked cab within 5 mins and they were on their way.

The second car which was booked for us (cab no 1 for us) showed that the driver was still completing other trip. After about 15 mins I called him up and he replied that he was in traffic, and yet to complete the other trip. I cancelled the trip after 30 mins of waiting as the app showed still the driver was completing his previous trip, which was stuck mainly due to traffic.

10.35/10.40 pm - I booked another cab (cab no 2) after cancelling the first one, the driver called me after 5 mins stating that his CNG has been over and there was hardly any petrol in his car. He was repeatedly asking me if I wanted a private taxi and that he could "arrange" for another car. No thank you - Ride cancelled.

10.55 pm - I booked the 3rd cab, the guy is stationery at one place for 10 mins, I call him up, he bluntly says he cant make the trip. I politely told him about my problem, he cuts the call. Strange and it makes me more irritated as my kids and wife get more and more agitated.

10.55 pm to 11.10 pm, no cars available with UBER and OLA.

11.10 pm I book the 4th cab on uber, the driver shows up at the pickup point after 15 mins and to my utter shock he says he cannot take any luggage as his trunk is full of other private stuff. I was literally on my edge this time, isn't it common sense that a ride from airport will have luggage. He threatens me to pay the airport tax, fellow stranded bystanders help me in the argument and he leaves.

11.30 Uber app shows no cars available.

11.35 Uber app shows no cars available across all options (even the black and XL are not available)

(meanwhile I inquire at the common black yellow taxi stand - no one is ready to come for a 5 km ride even though all of them are standing idle, I get absurd rates of Rs. 1200/- to 1500/-, even to that they were not ready to come)

11.45 pm - Uber app tells me "too many cancellations", I cannot book any cab anymore from the app.

11.50 pm Finally an OLA responds I booked the prime and we ride home.

From Ahmedabad to Mumbai we reach in 2 hours flat (from Ahmedabad gate checkin to Mumbai airport exit gate) and from Mumbai airport to my house roughly 5 kms it took more than 2.5 hours.

Next day I placed a complaint in Uber for the same, I got all the refund from the cancelled trips (all the trips were through Paytm) but the experience was horrible.

All my perceptions for Uber and Ola had shattered. These app based cabs are for sure not reliable unless they come up with a solution for the airport.

There is no doubt that in the city its a boon to have such a cab, with ac and driver at a minimal cost to be transported from one place to another without the hassles of driving.

But the same had become a curse at the airport. I was ready to pay the airport tax (which I had to nonetheless), I was ready to book a premium version cab (read: black and XL), I was ready to pay the exorbitant fare of Rs. 1200/- quoted by the Local taxi guys (the cost of which shouldn't be more than 200/- to 500/- max), yet my family had to endure this harrowing 2 hour ordeal.

Last year at the international airport we faced a similar yet a mild problem with MERU, but that's another story.

[AkMar]

So Uber has launched upfront fares. They estimate all the variables in trip and give a number upfront before booking, which will be charged no matter what the actual distance/time of trip is. I did not know about this & found out only recently. Till then 4 of my trips were done on these so called upfront fares which in Uber's words, is "There’s no complicated math and no surprises: passengers can just sit back and enjoy the ride" (link)

So I dug up stats for those 4 trips. Calculations showed the following:

Ride 1 (UberGo):
35 km: Rs 280
82 mins: Rs 123
Base: 45
Actual fare: 448
Charged: 511

Ride 2 (UberXL):
10 km: Rs 140
19 Mins: Rs 38
Base fare: Rs 100
Actual fare: 278
Charged: 300

Ride 3 (UberGo):
23.2 km: Rs 185
123 mins: 184
Base fare: 45
Actual: 414
Charged: 431

Ride 4 (UberGo):
24.2 km: Rs 193
75 mins: 112.5
Base fare: 45
Actual: 350
Charged: 464

All these were without surge (if there is surge, a note stating the same is mentioned near fares). So, in 4 rides I was charged Rs 200 in excess. Whats more, the Uber XL ride was on an afternoon when traffic is sparse and there isn't much variation in it. In spite of this, the estimate they came up with was Rs 20 more than actual. I am not at all pleased with this mechanism of calculating fares. In my books Uber has lost the VFM quotient due to these upfront fares. There is simply no transparency now.

They must be definitely laughing their way to the bank now with so many upfront fare rides!

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by AkMar

So Uber has launched upfront fares. They estimate all the variables in trip and give a number upfront before booking, which will be charged no matter what the actual distance/time of trip is.

This could be one way to curb incidents where drivers take an unnecessarily long route to a destination. They lose out if the cab is stuck in traffic (thereby increasing the time factor) but win if the trip is quick.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by AkMar

They must be definitely laughing their way to the bank now with so many upfront fare rides!

Not just UBER, even OLA does the same.
This is exactly what I faced with both these service operators. They always hide behind the fact that, we accepted the ride. That's it.

This is why I am still holding onto two cars in my garage even though I am the only one driving. I rather have the peace of mind of having a backup car rather than going through the pain of relying on unscrupulous service providers.

As a backup, my neighborhood travel operator is always ready to provide me with a cab at any time.

[Dry Ice]

Seems the drivers are on strike today. Odds finally catching up?

http://www.business-standard.com/art...1000005_1.html

The association has said that Ola and Uber do not give full weekly payment. “Companies should not add more new cars, they should stop ride-share services, also most importantly, we will not work for Rs 6 per kilometre. From Friday, we will go on indefinite strike till they agree to our demands,” said Ravi Rathore, senior executive member at the association.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Seems the drivers are on strike today. Odds finally catching up?

http://www.business-standard.com/art...1000005_1.html

Though there have been regular strikes here and there in the past few months, I dont think that such demands of drivers will be met by the aggregators. Rather the drivers are stupid to demand things like prevention of new cabs, hike in prices and so on. Why stupid - Because this is an open market where the drivers are all individuals. If it were an auto strike where the demands was against the government, their demands would have been answered due to many reasons. Here, the biggest issue is finding common ground. Consider the day of an auto strike, all autos have to go out of road. If there are some autos plying against the call, they will have it from the striking drivers.

In comparison, its difficult to call a full strike by these cabs. There will still be some cars mostly due to the fact that there is no unique identity, apart from the Ola branding. Uber is totally discreet. If most of the drivers strike, there will still be some people with different intentions who would want to drive around. Maybe because of greed or because of financial pressures. That is good for the aggregators. This is exactly how the businesses are running flawlessly, keeping the drivers as slaves. Those who want to strike can strike, and the rest will still log in and work.

These guys are all tied up with EMIs for their cars. No one can afford to stop working and go on strikes for a long time. Its time they understood that signing up for Uber/Ola was not as colourful as portrayed and learnt their lessons. No sort of unions or strikes will work IMO.

Originally Posted by AkMar

All these were without surge (if there is surge, a note stating the same is mentioned near fares). So, in 4 rides I was charged Rs 200 in excess. Whats more, the Uber XL ride was on an afternoon when traffic is sparse and there isn't much variation in it. In spite of this, the estimate they came up with was Rs 20 more than actual. I am not at all pleased with this mechanism of calculating fares. In my books Uber has lost the VFM quotient due to these upfront fares. There is simply no transparency now.

They must be definitely laughing their way to the bank now with so many upfront fare rides!

In the last two rides I have taken with Uber, I was refunded Rs. 10 and Rs. 15 as 'fare correction' which means that they are quite sincere in this system. It so happened that the ride times was lesser than estimated upfront and hence this deduction took place. No change in route involved. So I think this system is not so tricky.

[sdp1975]

I took my first ride on a Uber to Bangalore airport yesterday. While booking the ride, I had opted to pay by card that I had previously stored in the app.

However, after trip completion, the app didn't prompt me to pay by card. I couldn't find any option to make the trip payment by card either and finally paid by cash.

Anything that I missed ? I think the Ola app is more user friendly than Uber.

[dailydriver]

Ola Bike service has been launched in Hyderabad. Received this mail today:

Ola Hyderabad!

Introducing the faster, even more pocket friendly, and always ready-to-go commute option. You can now zip around the beautiful city of Hyderabad on an Ola Bike starting at just Rs.25!
So what are you waiting for?

Bike are currently available only in select parts of the city viz Madhapur, Hitech City, KPHB Colony, Jubilee Hills, Kondapur and Gachibowli.

[Thad E Ginathom]

From the drivers' point of view, has this bubble burst now? It is not so long since people were giving up office jobs to take up driving and earning more. Taxi drivers were buying up land. Even auto drivers were doing quite well out of Ola.

Now we see them striking over conditions and actual amounts received, and if a driver is engaged in conversation, they are no longer a happy lot.

This is my small-sample feeling. Does the wider view from others confirm this?

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by sdp1975

However, after trip completion, the app didn't prompt me to pay by card. I couldn't find any option to make the trip payment by card either and finally paid by cash.

Anything that I missed ? I think the Ola app is more user friendly than Uber.

That's the standard behaviour, did the driver ask you to pay?
You have to navigate to the trips section and the app usually displays a popup to complete the pending transaction - with paytm, card or cash to next driver. Once you select card, it takes you to a payment gateway where you need to enter the OTP to complete the payment.

Similar popup is also displayed if you try to book another ride before the previous payment is completed.

I have been paying by my SC card for the past few months and haven't faced any issues. I usually go to the trip section and complete the payment at leisure anytime after the trip.

You do not need to tell the driver what mode you'll be paying with, moreover, none have asked me anything so far.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

This is my small-sample feeling. Does the wider view from others confirm this?

That's pretty much the same vibe I am getting these days in the NCR a well. The initial lot were quite chatty, rarely humble, and mostly boasting of the fantastic deal they were getting, 5k/day was a 'low' day for them. These days if you engage and ask about the strikes etc, common response is getting 2.5-3k/day (after deducting expenses) is a challenge even after spending 12hrs at the wheel.

[ontheroad]

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

This is my small-sample feeling. Does the wider view from others confirm this?

I had a chat with an Uber driver last week. He was a middle aged man. He told that after the strike, the Uber is diverting most of the rides to their "leased" car drivers. The other drivers are allotted trips only if the "leased" drivers in the area are busy. As a result he is getting very less trips now and looking for other options (off line) also as a backup income source.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Uber in America could not be less popular with a lot of people. It is not the car service so much as the corporate ethos and goings on. Apparently there is a "Delete Uber," ie remove the app, campaign. Seems to be an uber-hated company.

People are reporting and commenting on reports like it is a company imploding. But they are USA-based, and even if the are talking about the international top company, they forget how big the rest of the world is.

[Gansan]

I could not connect to Uber since yesterday and sent a complaint. Got a cryptic reply my account has been suspended for "Agreement / Policy violations" and I will be notified if they "choose to reactivate my account again".

That's all. No explanation about what I violated. I last used the service twice on 18th March and both trips went off well.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Very strange. Maybe they are trying to reduce their customer numbers.