With just a click, app-based taxi services have gone a long way in curbing some transportation woes of denizens of the city. According to Uber and Ola drivers in the city, they get the most number of calls from Technopark, especially from newbies to the city, women techies and those who don’t or can’t drive.
Smitha Indira, a project manager at an MNC, says: “I don’t know how to drive and I had to often depend on my husband, who also works in Technopark, to travel to and from work. Of late, though, I’ve been clicking the apps to get around. They’re popular because they are quite reliable and relatively cheap when compared to other private taxi services. For new recruits, mostly from other states, many of whom live in and around Menamkulam, the apps have come as a boon,” she says.
Karthika Gopal, a tech analyst, is also all praise for the cabs. “I’ve been travelling by Uber daily for a month now for some health reasons. The cabs drop me off at the entrance of Tejaswini building, where I work. Earlier, I had to catch an auto from Technopark’s main entrance, for which the actual rate [to Bhavani or Tejaswini ] is Rs. 24 but we usually end up being charged Rs.40 for ‘return fare,’” she says.
Lakshmi Pillai is another recent convert. “The cabs have been particularly handy when I’ve had to travel at night after staying on late at work,” says the software developer.
And that’s despite the fact that many companies offer taxi-on-call services to their employees to travel to and from Technopark (they also offer hop-on hop-off cabs in between buildings where there are offices). “Company cabs operate only at a fixed time. So, even if you finish work early, you would still have to wait till the designated time. Also, you can take company cabs for personal errands only in an emergency and that too only with clearances form higher ups,” says E. Thomas, an HR executive.
However, it hasn’t been a smooth ride for app-based taxis. There are rising incidences of violence targeted at cabs, particularly in and around Technopark. Earlier this week, for instance, an Uber driver was reportedly attacked at Technopark’s main entrance, his cab’s tyres punctured and the women passengers in it asked to step out. “It has become almost impossible to hail app-based cab services around the main auto stand in front of Infosys building, from Phase Three, from Kazhakoottam market and Kazhakkottam and Kochuveli railway stations because of such incidences. The cabbies ask us to either cancel the booking or they drop us off some distance away,” says Vineeth Chandran, a project manager, who works at Leela Infopark building.
Techies also complain that cabs are allowed into the campus only if the passenger displays his/her ID card.
“It’s ostensibly for security reasons and is completely understandable. But that does mean we have to trudge all the way to the main or side gate to hail a cab. That’s simply not advisable after dark, especially for women,” says Thomas. The cabbies, though, have a way of working around this. Smitha explains: “What usually happens is that after dropping off passengers inside campus, the cabs hang around, in one car park or the other, waiting for a call. That’s how there are always a number of them to be found inside campus.”
Yet another peeve is that some of the surrounding areas of Technopark where many techies reside are designated as ‘outside’ city limits for some taxis. Hence, those rides get charged above minimum rate. “This side of town, the ‘official’ area of operation is actually Kaniyapuram but some cabs refuse to go beyond Vettu Road,” says Smitha.
As techies and cabbies navigate the glitches, they are sure of one thing: “app-based taxis are here to stay.”
