Indians Want Ola and Uber to be Penalised When Driver Cancels Ride, Shows Survey

New Delhi: App-based taxi services may have changed the way Indians travel but a survey has shown that it does come with its fair share of problems for their customers.

A survey conducted by LocalCircles, a social media network for civic and governance cooperation, has shown that 64% of people consider surge pricing to be their biggest problem with the app-based taxis like Ola and Uber.

The survey conducted received over 47,000 responses, out of which 43% were from women and 57% from men.

Close to three in four (74%) respondents also said that a duopoly has been created in the app-taxi market because of Ola and Uber.

The survey also asked whether the taxi service should be penalised for instances like driver cancellation, and 55% said a fixed amount of Rs 50 should be credited to the customer’s account while 35% said an amount equivalent to 10% of the ride fare should be credited to customer account. About 7% said no penalty should be imposed.

Around 72% said they use apps like Ola and Uber because of the convenience they provide and 16% said the reason was low fares. Around 3% said they were safer than other means of transport while 9% said they don’t use app-based taxis.

Quizzed on what the biggest problem was with app-based taxi service, 64% pointed towards dynamic and surge pricing while 25% said drivers demanding ride cancellation is a big issue.

About 75% said their respective state governments nor the central government had been able to effectively regulate surge pricing. Interestingly, 58% of the respondents are also fairly certain that the app-based taxi services will further increase their prices.

App-based taxi services have had a good run in India but not without problems. Allegations of driver misbehaviour, callousness, rash driving and high prices have led to legal problems too.

Earlier this month, fair trade regulator CCI rejected allegations of price fixing against app-based taxi service providers Ola and Uber, saying that drivers acceding to "algorithmically determined prices" by the platforms does not amount to collusion between them.