Fewer cabs on the road, and no sign of licences either

Cab aggregators attribute fewer cabs partly to stoppage of surge pricing

If you are struggling to book a cab, you may not be alone. Several users have been experiencing a delay for the past two weeks as cab aggregators have withdrawn surge pricing, thus bringing down the number of cabs available.

While the stopping of surge pricing may have brought cheer to users, drivers seem to have lost interest in plying during peak hours leading to a shortage of cabs, which Uber attributes to the stopping of surge pricing.

Uber stopped surge pricing temporarily as part of an undertaking given to the High Court in connection with a case against the Karnataka On Demand Transportation Technology Aggregator Rules 2016. Competitor Ola did not make any such announcement, but also seems to have followed suit.

“When you don’t have dynamic pricing models, this is bound to occur. Without surge pricing, we are not able to match supply and demand,” said Bhavik Rathod, general manager, Uber.

As the companies battle it out with the Transport Department, customers are complaining of fewer cabs. “Earlier, it would take a maximum of five minutes to locate a cab and for the driver to agree to come pick us up. Now, the cabs that one can see are at least 15 minutes away. I spend 40 minutes every day in booking a cab to office,” rued Piya Das, a resident of Old Airport Road.

Drivers, however, justify not logging on during peak hours. “The companies have been reducing incentives. Till the issue is resolved and our fees are stabilised, I will not be using the app during peak hours,” a driver with Uber said.

The number of trips has not reduced. However, there is no surge and so the amount of money we make has reduced

— Nagaraju, driver

As a vehicle-owner rather than just a driver, I am still making more money. I hope this problem is fixed soon. If I miss loan EMIs, the bank will take away the car

— Basavaraj, driver

The number of cabs has reduced drastically, especially during peak hours. Earlier, it was possible to get a cab by paying 1.4x. Now cars are just not available

Trisha M, manager at a software company

First they used to charge extra. Now, cabs are not available at all. These are two extremes and just shows that these cabs cannot be relied upon

Arvind T., a resident of G.M. Palya