City users see red over peak-time charges levied by taxi aggregator

There have been incidents where people have shelled out four times more than the original cost to travel for less than four kilometres. After a recent petition on Change.org titled ‘Is OLA really helping people or fooling them by peak time and travel time charges?’ by Bengaluru-based Aman Garg, a guideline was issued in Karnataka in favour of cab users. Now, apart from the maximum per-km fare, taxis will not be allowed to charge more during peak hours. 

Even Ola replied to the petitioner on Facebook and assured to sort out the issue. However, on the same thread, Pratik Shah commented saying, “This is very common in Chennai...especially on every trip at night after 12, as the last train from airport is at 12.00 am.” For which Ola Cabs replied, “Hey, surcharge is proportional to the demand at the hour; it’s variable and therefore not applicable at any fixed hours or routes. You are always notified before you confirm your ride. We look forward for your understanding.”

However, customers aren’t happy here. Archana Kumar shares her experience: “I had to travel from Ambattur to Egmore, a distance of around 15 kilometres, at around 4.30 pm. The app suggested, I had to pay a 2.4 X surcharge at 4:30 pm Miffed, I called the customer care service and asked for the reason as it was just 4.30 pm and hardly any traffic on the road. They had no explanation and said it was the policy.” 

Another customer, M Gandhimathi, said “An appbased cab company charged me by over Rs. 800 for a trip from Egmore railway station to Kolathur recently when normally I would have paid Rs. 250 maximum for other cab services. The driver said I could get off at Anna Nagar if the fare was too high! I had to continue with my journey since I had to get back to office in time.”  

Ola representatives were unavailable for comment.