Taxi aggregators in Hyderabad start charging exorbitant fares

HYDERABAD: With the start of monsoon, taxi aggregators are back at their game of charging exorbitant fares from commuters.The taxi drivers say that though this is a regular practice, they do not benefit from the surge pricing of taxi aggregators.

With the RTA sitting on the fence about regulations, in the meantime, the taxi aggregators are making a killing out of commuters.

Swathi R took an Uber to travel from Begumpet to Nampally in April and was charged Rs 101.09 for her trip and in June, she was charged Rs 455.39 for the same trip. “It’s unfair to charge so much for a journey less than 10 km. I paid as I didn’t have any choice,” said Swathi.

“Every year during Monsoon, the surge charge goes up. That’s why people are using Uber pool than the single taxis. The number of customers using Uber has decreased in the past few days,  specially during peak hours,” says Kranti, an Uber driver in Hyderabad.

“When it rains, the charges go up to 3-4 times than the normal cost. But the drivers don’t get anything out of this, whatever



be the surge,” said Sunil M, president, Telangana Cabs Association. “People are hesitant to book an Uber and are switching to relatively cheaper and newer taxi apps,” he added.

Drivers' shortage

The taxi driver unions have twice gone on strike against the taxi aggregators in Hyderabad this year. The unions presented their set of demands to the aggregators and to the transport department but invoked no response. The strikes failed to achieve any result.

Taxi unions claim that there are less number of drivers driving for Ola and Uber now. “There are less drivers for Uber and Ola. Many full time drivers have switched to other taxi services,” claimed Sunil.

There are over 50,000 persons registered with all the taxi unions. But Uber and Ola together claim roughly 1 lakh drivers in Hyderabad alone but the exact figure is not known, he added.

Many users of the taxi aggregator service opined that they have noticed fewer taxis on the map and the waiting time for drivers to accept their rides have increased.