Timely warning to app-based cab services
The warning sent out from the Union consumer affairs ministry to app-based cab aggregators like Ola and Uber has come not a day too soon. The earlier honeymoon of spanking, clean air-conditioned cabs with polite drivers is over. What we have instead is consumers harassed by inexplicable cancellation of taxi rides, and a raft of additional charges stretching from insurance and Covid levies, to hefty cancellation fees if initiated by the rider. At a recent meeting with representatives of Uber, Ola, Rapido, Meru Cabs and Jugnoo, consumer ministry officials frankly told the cab aggregators that if the burgeoning number of consumer complaints are not addressed very soon, strict action will follow.
A few years ago, the app-based taxi fleets were hailed as a revolution in transportation. Against the inefficient black-and-yellow cabs, this was doorstep service with a smile. A stage arrived when private car owners preferred to garage their cars, and instead used the new ride-hailing system to avoid parking hassles and the stress of driving. Anand Mahindra once warned that demand for private passenger vehicles was dipping thanks to the explosion of Olas and Ubers on the road. However, the trend seems to have now been reversed with consumers going back to private cars, unhappy with cabs that have deteriorated to smelly jaunty jalopies.
It is therefore time to go beyond warning to enforcing strict monitoring on the ground. The ministry for road transport must ensure compliance with the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines it has framed. Aggregator companies take a commission of 20% on all rides, and their role is to ensure minimum standards and pricing norms. However, there is little compliance. For instance, the Aggregator Guidelines have decreed that surge pricing cannot be beyond 1.5 times the original price. This is routinely violated. Again, respect for the customer has been given the go-by with no attempt to train drivers on etiquette. Drivers and their app-based operators have to realise if they don’t offer cutting-edge services voluntarily, it is only a matter of time before they are consigned to becoming have-beens.