Cab fares double at railway station as sudden rains hit Pune

Pankaj Joshi, who booked a cab after his journey from Mumbai to Pune, waited outside the junction and said that he had to wait for more than 30 minutes for the cab to arrive. He stated that despite the app displaying the message “Your ride is here,” no vehicle movement was seen. “I booked a minicab to travel safely and comfortably to my destination, Kondhwa. Although the app showed cabs nearby on my phone, no Ola partner accepted my booking. After all the struggle, one driver accepted, but he made me wait for 30 minutes, which almost doubled the actual charge. He asked me to pay around Rs 700, citing the reason for the traffic due to the rainfall,” he said.

Many passengers expressed their frustration with Ola and Uber on social media platforms regarding the delay in ride acceptance and the sudden surge in fares.

Zoeb Lakdawala tweeted on X that he faced the unavailability of cabs and the unresponsive behaviour of cab drivers while he was searching for a ride. “@Uber_India @ola_supports In Digital India, try to book a cab from Pune railway station to PCMC and bet that no driver will be assigned to you even after a 30-minute wait. I even tried to book their premier services, but no cab was allocated,” his tweet stated.

Despite willing to pay the surge fare of Rs 540, more than double the usual price of Rs 250, Lakdawala faced rejection from drivers. However, after he tweeted about his experience, Uber India’s social media team promptly apologised for the inconvenience.

Keshav Kshirsagar, spokesperson for the Indian Gig Workers Front (IGWF), stated that surge pricing on apps is a common occurrence during rainfall, as drivers face long traffic congestion, leading to increased fares.

The Indian Express reached out to Ola and Uber for a comment but neither company responded.