Bengaluru: Hailing an app based Ola or an Uber share ride will burn a deep hole in your pocket as fares have doubled in the last few months. Virtually every passenger who has used a mobile app based shared cab to commute in the city, is complaining that while initially, these shared rides were very cheap, even cheaper than commuting in auto rickshaws, fares have not just doubled, in some cases, they have even trebled.
Commuting in cab is more luxurious than auto rickshaw any day and naturally people opted for it in large numbers. "Once the cab aggregators had us hooked, they believed we would pay the higher fares, " said one frequent cab -user.
"It used to cost Rs 50 or Rs 60 for a shared ride between Banasawadi and Cunningham Road about two months ago. Now, the same ride costs somewhere between Rs 200 to Rs 220. Of course, earlier also the fares had surged during peak hours but now be it peak hour or non peak hour, commuting on shared cab is costlier. Sometimes, a few bucks less than riding solo," Vanamala, a resident of Banasawadi said.
Passengers also found that cab drivers often drop off commuters a few kilometers before the actual destination so that they could claim their bonus. It is the commuters who are caught between the drivers and the cab aggregators. The transport department must bring in some kind or regulation and bring in a mechanism where commuters feel safe and worth for their ride, she said.
