GUWAHATI: App-based cab services have been in operation in Guwahati for more than two years now. However, the residents are increasingly getting dissatisfied with the quality of services being offered by popular app-based cab services like Ola and Uber.
The problems for Guwahatians range from cancelled trips to drivers refusing to come to location and not accepting online payment.
“I use the cab services frequently to get to work but I have been facing a lot of trouble from the cab drivers over the past few months. They sometimes refuse to come to the location or make the passengers wait for a long time,” said Ashmita Deka, one of the regular customers who uses Ola and Uber services to commute to work, told G Plus.
Another app-based cab service user in Guwahati, Manoj Bhuyan, a student, mentioned that one of the major problems that he has faced is that the drivers refuse to go if the passengers opt for online payment for their trips.
“When I book the cab, a majority of the drivers ask for my payment method beforehand. And if I mention online payment, many of them refuse to go. This becomes very difficult for me as I have to constantly take out cash from the ATM to pay for the cabs,” he said.
Bhuyan added that while a majority of his experiences with cabs in the city has been good, a few instances of cab drivers being late during emergency situations has marred his experience with Ola and Uber.
“During a few instances, the drivers have canceled their trips after we waited for around 15 or 20 minutes for them to arrive. This becomes especially troublesome when we have to reach the railway station, airport or the hospital on time,” Bhuyan told G Plus.
President of All Assam Cab Operators’ Association, Ismail Ali, informed that there are around 15,000 app-based cab drivers operating in Guwahati.
Commenting on the non-acceptance of online payment by the cab drivers Ali said that Uber drivers usually refuse to accept online payment as they need to give a 26% commission to the company on digital payments.
“The drivers were earlier given a commission if a customer chose online payment method for their trips. But on the contrary, now they have to pay a commission to the company itself. Therefore they have stopped accepting online payment now,” said Ali.
He further added that with most customers wanting to opt for online payment, this leaves the drivers with very less cash in hand and they don’t even have enough cash even for filling petrol in their cars.
On the other hand, Ali informed that Ola drivers receive online money after a few hours.
Additionally, people have also complained of drivers behaving rudely with passengers and sometimes they refuse to drop you at the exact drop location.
“I usually have good experiences with Ola and Uber drivers but recently I had a bad experience. I was travelling from Anuradha Cineplex to ABC and the app was showing the estimated fare as Rs 113 but the driver charged Rs 255 from me saying that the app was displaying the wrong estimate,” said a regular user of cabs. She added that she even filed a police complaint following the incident.