[TusharK]

The government of Karnataka has asked aggregators Uber, Ola and Rapido to stop 3-wheeler services in Bangalore.



According to the additional commissioner for transport Hemantha Kumara, the move comes following complaints of auto drivers charging exorbitantly. He added that the transport department issued a notice to the companies to stop the services in the city.

Rapido has responded, stating that all their fares are in accordance with the fares decided upon by the state government. The company said that they were not charging any extra money.

Ola and Uber are yet to respond to the ban imposed on their 3-wheeler services in Bangalore.

Link to Team-BHP News

[dsr001]

This is strange; when I was in Bangalore a few years back, used Ola auto a lot, and it was always a good experience.

[rajeevsulu]

I have used Uber auto and so does my wife. These guys charge exactly by the distance and their fare is the lowest. Offlate, these guys have also started rejecting rides like their erstwhile taxi brethren! Thei fare is on point though!!

[DigitalOne]

This is petty power games. Power goes back to the local thugs as they again now control which auto drivers get access to auto stand. Feel sorry for the poor migrant auto drivers, who will lose this access.

[bordeaux]

This has nothing to do with fare they are charging. It's more of a power game in run up to the elections. Things will go back to normal post elections.

[darthvader001]

There is some truth in what people have complained about the fares ( see below example) -

I just did a verification myself today. From my Apartment to Royal Meenakshi Mall is 4km (alternate route shows 5km) in google maps. Either way going by the auto fare rules, it should be 30rs for first 2km and thereon 15rs each kilometre. So the fare must be 60rs for route 1 and 75rs for the alternate route. However when I checked in Ola it showed 96rs for route 1. There is no option to change route in Ola so I'm assuming it will be ~110-120rs for alternate route.

This shows clearly that Ola is charging more. For sure the charges might be Ola service charge except that they don't state it upfront. They should be more transparent here so it will be users choice whether they want to hail the ride service or not. Transparent meaning, how much is going to the driver and how much Ola charging for using their platform (because Ola needs money to maintain their App, servers, customer care, executives and Engineering team etc.). Ola/Uber should learn from make my trip App where they show their charges separately.

[arnav17]

Originally Posted by TusharK

The government of Karnataka has asked aggregators Uber, Ola and Rapido to stop 3-wheeler services in Bangalore.

Attachment 2365698

Originally Posted by darthvader001

There is some truth in what people have complained about the fares ( see below example) -

I just did a verification myself today. From my Apartment to Royal Meenakshi Mall is 4km (alternate route shows 5km) in google maps. Either way going by the auto fare rules, it should be 30rs for first 2km and thereon 15rs each kilometre. So the fare must be 60rs for route 1 and 75rs for the alternate route. However when I checked in Ola it showed 96rs for route 1. There is no option to change route in Ola so I'm assuming it will be ~110-120rs for alternate route.

Agree with BHpian Darthvader, looked to book an auto and the price difference between Uber and Ola was clearly visible! Ola are simply charging much more than average, Uber is VFM, but the app is quite glitchy to say the least.

[arvishnu]

I have also observed the price hikes by OLA. Not just that, the guys in auto stands do not put meter and ask for double or triple fare some times. When you ask them why they dont use meter they say open OLA app and check we are asking for the same price as in the app and refuse to go.

[RT13]

It’s become an utter nightmare booking at auto through either, here in Bangalore. These days I now sometimes have 5-6 autos successively cancelling, after supposedly starting towards me. What’s even better is how some chaps just don’t move at all. When I call them, I’m then asked how I’m paying and if they don’t like the answer, some of them simply hang up. They continue to not cancel so my app is stuck and I then have to cancel it myself and start from square one. And this is when I’m in the heart of Bangalore with hundreds of autos around me. I’m philosophically fine with pricing changes (and know this is more about unionisation than anything else) but the waste of time and effort enrages me! So frankly, I’m quite happy they’ve been shafted. In the end, it just reinforces my conviction that I simply cannot depend on public transport, particularly autos, and actually need my own vehicle. If one is not on the clock, it’s fine but if you have any sort of timetable in Bangalore, just depend on yourself.

[Rajeevraj]

As per the report in Times of India that triggered this, any ride using Uber/Ola Auto costs minimum INR 100. Way way above the minimum INR 30 fixed by government. Apparently the fares are so high that Auto drivers instead of quoting their own rate, asks the passenger to check uber/ola and pay as per that. This issue has been simmering for some time now.

Ultimately boils down to the sad reality that reliable, cost effective public transportation that covers major parts of the city is non existant in Bangalore.

[hrman]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

As per the report in Times of India that triggered this, any ride using Uber/Ola Auto costs minimum INR 100. Way way above the minimum INR 30 fixed by government. Apparently the fares are so high that Auto drivers instead of quoting their own rate, asks the passenger to check uber/ola and pay as per that. This issue has been simmering for some time now.

Ultimately boils down to the sad reality that reliable, cost effective public transportation that covers major parts of the city is non existant in Bangalore.

This is athe real issue. I was checking a few days back for a 2.2 km trip from my home. The regular auto wold cost some Rs.40-50 as per meter (if they agree that is), while Ola was quoting Rs.110. That's almost Rs.50 per km, which is highway robbery.

Over a period of time have observed Ola, Uber drivers also randomly cancelling and not ready to ply despite accepting on the app. What is even more surprising is the number of complaints with the Transport dept against errant auto drivers has dropped drastically since 2019.
Unless the metro becomes full fledged and covers most of Bangalore, its good old personal transportation for me. These arrogant autos with their "one and half" will not get my business.

[SR-71]

Interesting timing! Today I had to take an auto rikshaw after dropping my car at the service station. On the way back home in the morning I used Uber auto and paid Rs.172 for 6.5 Kms, whereas I remembered paying around Rs.95, a few months back for the exact same stretch. On the way to service station in the evening, Uber and Ola showed Rs.168 and Rs.174 respectively. However, I was able to hail an auto right outside my home, who promptly turned on the meter. I ended up paying exactly Rs.100 for the ride. Both my home and this service stations are in high footfall zones; auto drivers generally accept rides on this stretch. I don’t mind paying some overhead for convenience of hailing it from the comfort of my home, but 70% is sheer insanity. Am glad the government is stepping in. I understand there is a new app being launched by the auto rikshaw union from Nov 1, adhering to the government fixed tariffs.

[whitewing]

Uber/OLA for all their drawbacks have one benefit in that we can book rides and monitor the trip remotely. Extremely useful if one has elderly people who are not in a position to walk to the auto stand and are not comfortable with smart phones.

In my experience, the cancellation antics was also lesser in the autos compared to the cabs.

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Way way above the minimum INR 30 fixed by government.

It's not just BLR but the fact that the meter rate in any city is laughably low. Fixing that would at least allow the government to enforce the rate but as usual with government policies in India, it's a total mess.

[Raghu M]

OK, so they have been asked to stop operations for surge or exorbitant pricing and I don't support them one bit. But what about the local auto wallahs who take the passengers for a ride without using meters? With the aggregator gone, they have a monopoly now. I mentioned on a thread earlier that Ola/Uber have a bleak future. The business model is not a sustainable one. They don't pass back a share of the surge pricing to the driver. This is poor business practice and cheating if you may call it. I don't have any of these apps installed anymore. One you never get a ride, two there are at least 5 cancellations before you stand a chance with your luck. So, I use the metro when I am traveling to the busy areas of the city (which I need to do very rarely). Otherwise for office and outstation trips, I have my car.