Pune: Cabs loot passengers by recovering surcharge
Pune: Private cab aggregators such as Ola and Uber suddenly increase fares during peak hours, rains and a shortage of cabs. There are over 40,000 cabs in the city and thousands of passengers use the service for commuting.
Extra fare is taken as a surcharge for drivers. It varies from 50 pc to 150 pc more than the regular fare. But this money goes into the company’s account as the ‘third party’ service provider.
Cab fares also vary from area to area. There is a big difference between fares around IT companies and airport areas and other parts of the city. Cab fares go two-three times up during peak hours, rain or traffic congestion. Customers assume that the rate hike could be done by the driver.
However, that is not the fact. Only 10 pc of the money is given to the cab driver. The remaining 90 pc money is taken by the company. Moreover, the company also recovers money for its ‘third party’ service from the cab driver and the passenger. Many cab drivers are unaware of this.
Firm gets 30 pc commission
The aggregator makes three shares of the money earned through the cab service. The first share goes to the driver. The second is the company’s commission. At least 30 pc commission is recovered from the total fare. Even a higher amount is recovered by the company for the third party service from the driver. The driver gets around 40 pc of the total fare. They pay for fuel, the vehicle loan EMI and maintenance expenditure from the 40 pc money. This is resulting in financial problems for the driver.
Birudev Palave, President, Maharashtra Tourist Taxi Sanghatana, said, “The government decides the fares for the cab service. However, the cab aggregators do not implement these fares. They recover more commission from drivers. This has made it difficult to work as a cab driver. The number of cabs is growing in the city and our earnings are dipping. We are facing financial problems due to increasing commission and third party charges.”
Keshav Kshirsagar, President, Indian Gig Workers Front, said, “Actually, the aggregators do not have the right to conduct their business. They have still not got the permission to operate. The current business is illegal. Moreover, they are looting commuters in the name of surcharge. There should be a limit to the surcharge. They are recovering 50 pc to 150 pc more from passengers. This has to stop.”
