[drive2eternity]

I am primarily an Uber user and only open Ola if there is some issue with Uber. eg. no cabs in vicinity or the app is acting weird. With Uber, I have my payments setup done, my cards linked etc and I am too lazy to repeat the process for Ola and this makes Uber my preferred choice.
I have had my share of bad experiences with both, Ola and Uber. Last minute cancellations, delayed pick up etc so I do not have grudges against any of them in particular. For me, both are similar. And therefore, for airport drops (in Bangalore), I rely on Meru and never use Uber/Ola.

Recently, especially in NCR, I have seen a new scam in both Ola (experienced by my parents) and Uber (self experienced).

- You book a cab. The driver arrives. You get in and the ride starts. Now, suddenly the driver says that he has no cash and requires some immediately and hence you should pay for the ride in cash, not Paytm or Card or whatever method you had initially selected. If you concur, he asks you to cancel the ride and pay him the balance amount shown initially minus the cancellation charges (he shows it as his goodwill) at the end of the ride.

The ploy benefits the drivers as they get the entire amount, without any deductions by Uber/Ola and also normally the drivers are paid weekly/monthly by these companies but here, he gets the money immediately. As a rider, you have to be careful because in case of any untoward incident, you cannot hold Uber/Ola responsible because as per their records, you did not undertake the journey.

I was trapped because I had to reach the airport (should have stuck to Meru in the first place) and finding another cab would have costed me precious time. However, my parents have always asked the driver to take their preferred payment method or cancel the ride.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

I've had some rides where the driver has kept the windows rolled down and started the a/c only when I asked him to.

This has become more of a norm than exception. Very rare to have a driver turn on AC by himself. I remember taking a pool ride sometime back and driver did not turn on AC saying this is pool ride so no AC. I think this such tricks are only going to increase with time. Cab rides are no longer cheap and drivers claim to be not making as much as they did earlier. Clearly shows who is finally making some moolah.

That being said, I find it surprising that no one is trying to disrupt Ola / Uber by offering competitive rates to customers and better earning to drivers. Is this because customers are still paying less than the breakeven? For long-distance rentals, Ola/Uber rates are more than what other travel agencies offer (9-10 rs/km). Can't 10 rs/km be a norm for local travel as well?

[hrman]

So here is my experience in Bangalore today. I wanted to travel a short distance of about 5 to 5.5 Kms (as per gmaps). Tried booking an Auto on the Ola app. Didn't get any. The fare on Ola auto was showing as Rs.104. I went by Ola Micro. The fare was Rs.144/- i.e. ~ Rs. 28 per km.
On my return, took a regular auto. They guy took some shortcut and I ended up paying Rs. 50/-. The difference is stark.

I saw on some news article, where Auto drivers in Pune turn up on the app, request the customer to cancel the ride then on the app, and then take them by the meter. It seems it ends up being some 10% cheaper than the app, even after the cancellation charge. For the driver, no commissions to be paid, no waiting for money from OLA or Uber

OLA and Uber fares have definitely gone up by 30% in the past few months. Looks like the VCs funding the ride sharing companies are finally extracting their pound of flesh. The party is over.

[mpksuhas]

Has anyone noticed difference in Google maps time shown for destination between your phone maps and driver phone maps?

I was stuck in a jam today while in an Uber, driver was having navigation on and it was showing 17 minutes for the destination. Just out of curiosity, I opened Google maps on my phone and checked the same destination, it was showing 22 minutes as expected time of arrival.

Is Google maps optimizing drive time based on individuals driving style or is that they show over optimistic timeline for Uber cabs?

[rovingeye]

Can someone please share an Uber coupon for Delhi, NCR.

[GJ01]

Originally Posted by drive2eternity

Recently, especially in NCR, I have seen a new scam in both Ola (experienced by my parents) and Uber (self experienced).

Our Company has a corporate tie up with Ola, so when I am in official travels, I just have to hail an Ola and get going. The problem with this is that most of the drivers ask to cancel the ride when I tell them that the payment method is Ola money.

Last week I was in Chennai. I booked a cab to the Airport and he comes in promptly. As soon as I enter, I usually have a habit to check the instrument cluster. What I typically look for his how much the car has clocked - and will almost always see the 'Check Engine' indicator on.

This time I noticed that his fuel guage was stuck at E. This was not a CNG car - there was no cylinder in the boot when I put in my bag - so I asked him if the indicator is correct. He says yes - hes out of fuel and that he'll tank up on the way. We set off and pass many fuel stations so I ask him when is he going to fill up - he says he'll fill up at a Shell station. Finally about 5 - 6 KM before the airport, he drives in to a Fuel station and asks me for 300 Rs. I had already told him that the payment is through Ola money - maybe he didnt understand when I tried to explain it to him in Hindi and English, I dont know Tamil. He says that he doesnt have any money, plz atleast give me 100 so that I can drive you to the airport. I didnt want to cancel, it was getting late and there were no cabs around - so finally gave him 100 Rs. As soon as I completed the trip, I put in a complaint stating driver took 100 Rs. Got a message - We'll get back to you, that was a week ago, I have heard nothing.

I landed at Ahmedabad and book a cab from the airport, 3 drivers ask me to cancel - saying they want cash. The fourth one grudgingly accepts and when I board the cab, he then tells me the same thing - whats the bill amount you see, cancel the ride and pay me the amount minus 30 Rs, the cancellation charge if it gets levied to me. I told him if he doesnt accept Ola money then I'll step out.

While Ola seems to be pushing the Ola money and Ola Postpaid offerings in a big way - the cab drivers dont seem to want any of it.

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by GJ01

Got a message - We'll get back to you, that was a week ago, I have heard nothing.

Uber is very proactive when it comes to driver complaints. A cab driver abandoned us midway as he did not want to enter UP. I took an auto, by the time I was home all the amount was credited in my Uber credits, in 10 mins flat.

Recently, a cabbie did not pay MCD tax (Delhi entry) and just ditched the barriers, MCD tax is included in the fare. I got it to Uber's notice and within 5 mins 100/- was credited.

Both the times, I did not speak to any UBER customer care executive. I just used their app. I have uninstalled ola long time back.

I have been getting 25% discount from last 2 months valid for a cool 20 days on Uber.

[StepUP!]

Uber has started new features - you can send a note to Driver and there is option to flash your mobile screen so that driver can locate you.

[phoenixash]

Uber is my preferred service, purely due to better customer service, better quality of cars (maybe it's just luck!) and a better app. However, here in Bombay, lately waiting times for Uber has increased to atleast 10 - 12 mins, even though before booking the app shows cabs within 2-3 mins. This seems to be a change in Uber's algorithm, but I'm not sure why.

Ola has recently rolled out their Postpaid payment method which is definitely more convenient, so I've been using Ola more recently, however Uber service is heads and shoulders above Ola.

My likes / dislikes about each:

Ola
- I like their OTP system for starting a trip, this way the driver cannot mistakenly (or purposely) start a trip before you sit in the car.
- Ola Postpaid is definitely a positive, the pain of having to input the OTP after each cab ride (thanks RBI) gets annoying when you want a cab in a hurry and haven't paid for your previous ride
- I don't understand the need for Micro / Mini - just combine both. The cars you get are generally interchangeable.
- Ola's pre-defined pick-up points for certain locations are generally poorly marked on the map. They also don't let you pick a point on the map which is tiresome.

Uber:
- Better quality app. Well written and good features like multiple stops, fare split etc.
- Paytm (as a payment option) is better than Ola Money
- Generally get better maintained cars. Not sure why, but I've had multiple poor experiences with Ola but Uber has a basic minimum standard
- Customer Service is generally excellent (this differs from city to city, but the Bombay team is pretty good)
- However, some drivers take advantage of the simplicity of the app, have had a few instances where drivers instantly start the trip on accepting the ride. Not sure if this is due to drivers not being familiar (which means Uber must have some basic training) or are just being malicious. But the OTP system solves this completely
- Integration of various pick-up areas (like the International Airport) and good pre-fixed pick-up points make it more convenient. You can also just pick a random point on the app if you don't know the exact address - very convenient.
- Pickup times are getting ridiculous, even at non-peak hours. Have also heard a lot of drivers crib that Uber is now assigning them rides 3-4 kms away from where they are. Don't understand this new strategy, its both customer and driver hostile.

Either ways, its good to have both options!

[Zappo]

I used to be mostly on Uber platform. However in the last 1+ years I realized that on a km to km basis Uber always works out far costlier here as compared to Ola. So typically on a 15 km journey the differences often are as high as Rs.70 to 100! Slowly Uber has taken a backseat for me now and Ola is the primary option.

Of course I check both. But very rarely has it happened (if ever) that I found Uber is quoting lesser than Ola for the same journey!

[aah78]

I use Uber frequently in NYC but I haven't used Uber in India (Bombay), yet. Will definitely use it next time.

On my last trip down I used Ola quite a few times, just because I hadn't used it before & was recommended over Uber by family.

Experience using Ola was a mixed bag - overall on the positive side.
While I did get clean, air-conditioned cars with patient polite drivers most of the time, there were 2 occasions which were disappointing.

• One, when the driver was driving a mixture of Death Race 2000 & the Monaco Grand Prix - breaking signals, aiming for pedestrians, darting in & out of traffic like a mosquito when all I wanted was a nice relaxed ride.
• The other - when the driver stopped for pickup a long way off from my location. I walked up to him & all he could do was complain about how the "company" had sent him to my pick-up point from half-way across the world.

I think the best experience I've had in Bombay is with the regular (black-yellow / kaali-peeli) taxi drivers. Even though the cars are rickety, being held together only by sheer willpower; the drivers have always been courteous & chatty, especially the older ones. They're also more familiar with locations within the city.
They're also fairly patient drivers most of the time - If only they had more training with following traffic rules.

[GTO]

Just like Coke & Pepsi, Uber & Ola are more or less the same thing...with small differences. Of late though, I've started moving to Ola. Reasons:

- More availability. 8 out of 10 times, an Ola cab can get to me faster than Uber. Uber's wait times have gone up, especially in the last 6 - 10 months.

- Music! As someone who cannot drive without music, I love Ola Play.

The only thing I don't like is the lack of PayTM support. Even today, I used Ola twice & didn't even open my Uber app.

[Hayek]

Had posted on this earlier and chosen Primarily Uber. That has now changed - it’s become Primarily Ola. Why? As GTO mentioned, Ola availability has improved considerably - whether at the airport or BKC or my home, I get Ola much faster. One reason is that Uber seems to very often allot cars that are on the wrong side of the railway tracks. If you are in central Bombay, you know that crossing tracks is an impossible task. Ola almost never does that.

Plus the Ola Prime Play sedans are generally in good condition - at least as good as the Uber Premiums. And with fares having risen and availability fallen, Uber Black is no longer a practical option.

[bvasista]

Originally Posted by GJ01

While Ola seems to be pushing the Ola money and Ola Postpaid offerings in a big way - the cab drivers dont seem to want any of it.

Hi Sir,

My opinion on this - I have spoken on this issue with 4 to 5 Ola cab drivers in Hyderabad and Chennai also. They say that whenever digital money is used, Uber is usually on time in terms of payments to them (weekly once is what I remember) but when it comes to Ola, they delay the payments to them. Hence they insist on cash payment.

Thanks !

P.S: Thanks to Team BHP Moderators for approving my membership in my first attempt and this is my first post. Excited to be part of Team BHP as a member even though I have been following it since 2009.

[JoshMachine]

Started with using Ola sometime ago but now have switched to Uber, here in Pune.

Reasons:-

• Biggest plus in terms of using Paytm seamlessly, with regular promos on offer

• Wait times are reasonably accurate and predictable

• Of late, the customer support has become quite responsive (for issues like canceled trip by driver, for example)

• Credits are loaded into the account with very little delay after you raise a associated complaint and is verified

• The Uber app gives an option to go back to a trip detail taken in the recent past, and report (in case of an issue). Not sure if this is present in Ola