Uber Increases Tariff By Upto 20% Across Several Indian Cities: Find Out Why?

Uber India is hiking ride fares in multiple cities in order to boost driver earnings amidst an ongoing surge in fuel prices. 

A council of drivers had brought up the issue of a slump in daily income due to rising petrol and diesel costs.

Helping Soften The Blow

The Uber Driver Advisory Council was constituted back in March 2022.

Director of Central Operations Nitish Bhushan confirmed the move and said that the hike is meant to “directly boost their earnings per trip.”

The hike has been made in order to “cushion drivers from the impact of rising fuel prices across many cities in India”.

The company is always “striving to make driving with Uber a viable and attractive option for drivers.” 

Hike Amounts

Reports say that the hike is in the range of 15 to 20 per cent.

It had issued a hike in cab fares for Delhi (12 per cent) and Mumbai (15 per cent), back in April this year.

It said that it will continue to monitor fuel price movements over the coming weeks and will act accordingly.

The company also announced a slew of measures to improve the experience of passengers.

Making Trip Destinations Visible

The move comes days after the consumer affairs ministry rebuked the company for anti-consumer practices such as unfair ride cancellations with customers being burdened to pay the fees. 

One of the measures Uber has introduced is making trip destinations visible to drivers before they decide to accept the ride.

This should address a common problem where drivers ask the riders for their destination before starting the ride and end up cancelling them or asking riders to cancel if they do not wish to go there.

The Caveat

The official statement goes- “Drivers who meet a predefined trip acceptance threshold will be eligible to get the destination information so that they can make an informed choice.”

The key phrase here is “predefined trip acceptance threshold” meaning that drivers who often reject trips may not be shown the destination address.

This feature is already live across 20 cities and will be expanded to all others.

Flexibility on payments is another one. 

Show Payment Mode Before Ride, New Pay Process

Drivers will also be shown the mode of payment (cash or online) before the trip starts.

Another measure taken to benefit drivers is a “daily pay process” which will ensure that trip earnings from Monday to Thursday, are credited to drivers the next day.

Earnings from Friday to Sunday are credited on Monday.

Drivers will also get a chance to earn extra on long distance pick ups. 

They will be able to see the earnings for long pick-ups, separately displayed on the fare receipt.

Service Expectations

The company will also reinforce their service quality expectations of drivers especially with respect to cancellations and ensuring AC rides.

Drivers with repeated complaints about refusal to turn on AC will be penalised and app access will be restricted .