71% Uber, Ola Passengers Are Concerned About Just One Thing: Sudden Ride Cancellation By Drivers (Other Concerns?)

By Shreya Bose Last updated Apr 10, 2022

71% Uber, Ola Passengers Are Concerned About Just One Thing: Sudden Ride Cancellation By Drivers (Other Concerns?)

A survey reported that users of Ola, Uber and other app-based taxi services have faced several issues with the apps ove the last year.

The study conducted by citizen engagement platform LocalCircles collected 65,000 responses from app taxi users from 324 districts across India.

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Most Common Problems

The most common issues include drivers cancelling the ride, surge pricing, long waiting times, and cancellation charges.

71 per cent of respondents complained of rides being cancelled by drivers and 45 per cent said they were charged more than the surge pricing cap.

Cancellation By Drivers

The government introduced the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines In November 2020 which set a cancellation penalty for drivers at 10 per cent of fare capped at Rs 100.

However, most states have not enforced these guidelines.

71 per cent of respondents said that ride cancellation by drivers continued to persist despite the guidelines.

Charging Beyond Surge Price

The guidelines capped the surge pricing at 1.5 times higher than the base fare.

However, 45 per cent of the app users claimed that they were charged more than the cap, indicating poor implementation and enforcement.

Thousands of complaints were reported on LocalCircles just in the last 12 months.

The complainant said that drivers kept cancelling rides or asking consumers to do so either because they do not want to travel to the destination or they want cash instead of digital payment.

Covid Protocol Compliance

Other issues reported include long waiting time, driver misbehaviour, excessive surge charge, and worse of all extortion.

60 per cent were satisfied with drivers’ compliance of Covid-19 protocols.

The protocols include wearing masks, social distancing and hygiene or sanitation.

60 per cent of respondents were happy with masking and social distancing compliance compliance, but only 35 per cent were satisfied with hygiene or sanitation compliance.