Bengaluru: While cab aggregators in the city are facing heat from customers for revival of surge pricing, they are now drawing flak from competitors and their own drivers for charging abnormally low prices while ferrying people from Kempegowda Interntional Airport.
"What Ola and Uber is doing is predatory pricing. They have reduced the fares to the airport, to abnormally low amounts like Rs 400-500. Their drivers are the ones affected by this, as they receive a very small share of the cut. They are competing with each other with really bad rates," said Radhakrishna Holla, General Secretary of Bengaluru Tourist Taxi Operators Association.
The damage done to the government cab services that have a fixed rate, is irreversible. "It takes Rs 750 from MG Road to Bengaluru Airport, when you take KSTDC or Meru Cabs, which is the fixed government rate. Ola and Uber charge Rs 300-400 and it has caused a heavy loss to the government. Of 2,000 Meru cabs, only 500 were used today and only 50 KSTDC cabs, operated at the airport," said Ramesh, a member of the Bruhat Bengaluru Taxi Drivers Union.
Expressing concern over the plight of drivers, who earn their livelihood by driving cabs, Ramesh said, "They charge Rs 499, out of which the drivers have to pay for diesel, toll, commission to company and are left with only 25 per cent, which is Rs 50."
"If the drivers complain, they will lose their job. Instead of developing the market charge, they are damaging it. They want to show off that they got 20,000 more rides than the previous day, while KSTDC cab drivers manage to get one trip in the morning and one in evening," Holla said.
How far has the market suffered by this single move by private cabs? Ramesh revealed that the injustice done to KSTDC cabs, by such competition has them backing away.
"KSTDC is refusing to invest in the tender issued for parking space in the airport. Meru says they want to withdraw from Bengaluru, if this situation persists. While the government has a fixed rate, these private players surge charge when it is New Year’s Eve and suddenly reduce the very next day," Ramesh said.
When Deccan Chronicle contacted Ola and Uber, they failed to respond. With the cab service industry taking a hit in Bengaluru, drivers losing out on livelihood, commuters seeing lesser service options than before, the Ola and Uber management seem to be the only winners from this pricing policy.
