: A day after surge pricing was suspended, cab aggregator Uber claimed that over 40,000 of its users were left stranded due to unavailability of cabs on Tuesday.
“We were forced to do something we don’t believe in at the cost of reliability… In the last 24 hours of turning the surge off we have noticed that over 40,000 app users opened our application to book a taxi and saw no cabs,” Gagan Bhatia, General Manager at Uber North told The Hindu .
By comparison, the company claimed that during the first phase of the scheme and the first three days of the second phase, there were on an average 10,000 such users. The company, however, did not share total number of rides by drivers on its platform in a day.
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Some users also posted on Twitter and Facebook about cabs not being available.
Uber cited the Delhi government’s threat to impound vehicles as well as suspension of surge pricing as the key reasons for this.
Mr. Bhatia said that surge pricing encouraged cab drivers to remain on the platform as it served as additional income for them and the money does not come to the company.
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“Surge pricing helps in two ways – since the drivers earn more money, they are encouraged to remain active on the platform. Also, in case of surge pricing, riders who are not in a hurry are willing to wait for the surge to come down,” he said.
Cab aggregators like Ola and Uber charge a fix commission of up to 20 per cent from the drivers. Separately, the drivers are also given incentives on completing particular number of trips during peak hours in a single day.
Mr. Bhatia added that the company has not been successful to get an audience with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to discuss the matter.
Uber and Ola on Monday had announced temporary suspension of surge pricing after warning of ‘strict action’ by the Delhi CM following complaints from riders over cab service apps charging very high prices.
Uber has about 30,000 drivers on its platform in the Delhi-NCR regions.
Asked about the ban on surge pricing by Karnataka government, Mr. Bhatia said the company is in talks with the state government and as of now surge pricing continues to be applicable in the State.
Uber also messaged its users saying, “Dear Rider, if you're seeing no cars available or longer wait time, that's because of suspension of surge. Surge ensures there’s a car available at all times…”
Ola on the other hand in a statement said they pulled out peak pricing in the region “in support of the vehicle rationing scheme by the Delhi government.”
Uber and Ola were told to stop surge pricing after users complained they were being fleeced