KOCHI: Though online cab aggregators like Uber and Ola have been promising safe, secure and convenient journey for all, rude behaviour by taxi drivers is bringing disrepute to the operators.
In a recent incident, Mahesh, an IT employee, who booked an Uber cab from Jawahar Nagar was forced to cancel the trip due to the arrogance of the driver. When Mahesh called, the driver said he was five
kilometres away from the pick up point. He informed that the trip will ‘start’ from his current location. When Mahesh questioned it, the driver shouted at him and asked to cancel the trip. Mahesh cancelled the trip and was made to pay a fine of Rs 50, when he booked the next trip.
According to sources, there has been a steady increase in the number of complaints regarding misbehaviour by Uber and Ola drivers during the past few weeks. It is said that the rude behaviour is a fallout of the drop in earnings due to increase in the number of cars attached to online cab aggregators in recent months.
An Uber driver, on the condition of anonymity, said many drivers with shady backgrounds have migrated to the city and are enrolling themselves as online taxi drivers. “These are the people who resort to unfair practices. Many of them present fake police verification certificates (which the taxi aggregators demand for registration),” he added.
Uber and All Kerala Online Taxi Drivers Association (AKOTDA) are on the same page regarding the need to act tough against these elements that bring disrepute to the profession.
“Such practices are unfair and against our principle. If the customers file a complaint with us, we will initiate action against the offenders,” said an Uber executive.
T R S Kumar, president of AKOTDA said that drivers resorting to unfair practices would spoil the hard earned goodwill of online cab aggregators, who won customer confidence by offering fair and hassle-free service. “The company should act tough against drivers who behave rudely. The union has been reiterating that drivers should be courteous towards the customers,” he stated. Kumar added that the increase in the number of cabs has affected them adversely. “As more cars are being attached, there is a mismatch between demand and supply - there are more number of cars than the requests for rides. Our recent strike was to put pressure on the companies to regulate new cars and ensure that each cab gets atleast 20 rides a day,” he added.