BENGALURU: Cab drivers looking to make a quick buck are allegedly tampering with the GPS system or taking longer routes, say commuters.
In once such case, a commuter in the city had to pay Rs 573 for a ride from Koramangala to Yeshwantpur (shortest distance is around 18km). He was billed for a 37.46km ride. Lolaksha, a resident of Koramangala, said, “On July 24, I had taken three Uber rides. On the last ride, I was cheated. The driver did not keep his mobile phone on the dashboard where the passenger can see the route being taken or diversions. He kept it on his lap. The GPS connection was patchy and I thought that it was unusual.
“When we reached my destination, the bill came up to Rs 573.88. The driver managed to charge extra by fiddling with the GPS and taking a longer route. When I expressed my doubt about the bill amount, the driver started arguing. I asked for the customer care number and he said it was 080-39668680. But I was unable to get through.”
Lolaksha questioned why the cab service doesn’t have helplines for commuters. “This is not just about money, but also about safety of commuters.”
Software tampered?
The bill showed that the cab driver took 54 minutes to cover 38km during peak hour. Lolaksha said, “The bill shows routes which the driver never took. He created these movements by tampering with Uber’s software. I am familiar with the city and it’s not possible to cover 38km in 54 minutes here.” He checked the distance on Google Maps and said it would have been around 20.1km if the driver had gone via Hosur Road, and 25km via ORR. Following the incident, he wrote to Uber.
An Uber spokesperson told Express that a team is looking into Lolaksha’s complaint.