There are plenty of cab/taxi services in India. There are national players like Meru, Easy, Ola, TaxiforSure whose services are available in all the major metros and large towns. In addition, there are countless local players there to pick up the slack. Why? With the growth in city size and airports tens of kilometres away, not to mention parking hassles, taxis has become an essential requirement in the pickup and drop, not to mention its other general uses. International Player UBER.
What is UBER?
UBER is a service which connects you, the traveller with the different taxis with whom it has an arrangement. Like Taxiforsure, UBER does not own any fleet of cabs, but rather, delivers its branding and services to local cab operators who can use it as a means to get customers.
How UBER differs
UBER came in the news a few weeks ago for a run in with the RBI. This is because UBER differs from all other taxi operators in one key area; Payment. In a normal taxi, you pay the money to the taxi driver when you reach your destination. In UBER, you register your credit card with UBER, and then your card gets charged depending upon the distance traveled.
So what’s so great, you ask? Simple
You do not spend time haggling for change and that is especially useful when doing the airport / train pick up and drop.
The rates are very competitive, cheaper than Meru, OLA and taxiforsure(though with a hidden variable component which I shall discuss later).
How UBER works
Download and install app
In UBER, you do not call the call centre to book a taxi. Rather, you install the UBER app on your smartphone. Then, you register your credit card(presently no SMS verification or transactions, direct debit). In this credit card payment mechanism, there is no secondary or SMS verification for transactions, which might be bothersome and a security issue for certain customer. RBI thought so to, so not UBER will introduce a local payment gateway by November 2014.
Booking a Cab
You fire up the app, which will use the GPS on your smartphone to show you the list of taxis nearby(they appear as icons). The estimated time to arrival is also shown. In India, there are two categories of UBER taxis available. They are:
UberBlack - The more premier service. They cars available here are apparently the Mercedes E-Class, Toyota Corolla, Honda City and similar vehicles. The rate card is as such:
Base Fare: Rs. 80. Min Fare: Rs. 200, Per Km: Rs.18. Per Minute: Rs. 2
(Note: The per minute charge is the variable component and can spike up the rates if you are stuck in traffic. For e.g. if a trip to airport normally takes 1 hour. The Per minute charge is 60 mins x 2= Rs. 120, which is in addition to the base fare and Rs. 18 per km). If however, you get stuck in traffic and it takes 1.5 hours, the per minute charge is Rs. 2 x 90 minutes= Rs. 180)
UberX – This is the lower cost variant with lower end cars. The cars I normally receive are the Marti DZire, Old Honda City, Toyota Etios etc. The rate card is:
Base Fare: Rs. 50. Per Minute Cost: Rs. 1, Rate Per Km: Rs. 15. Min Fare: 125
UberX Provides the same or better quality cars than Meru, Easy and OLA, and has a minimum fare of Rs. 125 which is lower than the others, who normally charge Rs. 200 minimum, and have a rate per km of Rs. 18 to Rs. 22.
Anyway, back to the booking process
You will receive the car and driver details. You can call the driver to enable you to find the cab easily.
The car will come to your location and pick you up. You are on your journey. Upon completion / reaching your destination the amount of fare is charged to your card you don’t have to pay cash
The amount is displayed on your app. In addition, you receive an email and SMS regarding your trip in addition to the app details. It’s that simple.
*Pros and Cons
Pros*
No time spent in payment / change: As noted, because the charge is levied directly on your credit card, you do not have to spend time hunting for the exact change or haggling with the driver. No tips are to be given, and you save a few minutes, especially useful when going to the airport/railway station
Lower fares compared to competition: As noted above, the basic rates per km fare is lower than comparable operators, and cheaper when you consider the quality of vehicles you are getting. Uber does not send Indicas at all.
Good Taxis: In my experience with UBER, I have only received good clean taxis with drivers who are courteous and drive safely. Some users have experienced bad service, but the number of cases I have heard of is still much lower than the bad conditions in Easy and Meru.
Cons
Per Minute waiting charge makes it expensive: The elephant in the room with UBER is the face that there is a per minute charge, which is not a waiting charge. This means that the longer a journey takes, or the more likely you are to be stuck in traffic, the more it will cost you. Travelling during peak hours in crowded areas can spike your bill by as much as 50 per cent more, making it less viable.
UberBlack does not give luxury cars: Although UBERBlack claims to give you Mercedes or BMW’s, in my experience, the best car I got was a Toyota Corolla Altis. Toyota Innova’s are the most common vehicle you will receive when booking UBERBlack. Not that I have a problem with the Innova. It’s very comfortable. But such misleading advertisements are not ethical.
No call centers / customer service in case of problems: UBER does not have a call center number to help you in case of wrong charge applied to your card or any issue with the taxi operator. You have to login to their website and submit a support request. Thankfully I have never had to resort to this, but I am worried in case I ever need to.
You cannot book a cab in advance: Unlike other taxis you cannot book an UBER cab in advance. You can only book it when you want it, i.e. immediately. This makes it unsuitable for airport drops, as you are not assured a quick taxi when you are booking, if there are none in your vicinity. For airport pickups though, it is a good option.
Conclusion – UBER has set a cat among the pigeons with good quality cars and lower fares. It’s unique payment mechanism is also something that people enjoy. However, some changes need to be made for UBER to truly live up to its promise.
Introduced payment gateway with added authentication for transactions, as many of us are worried about letting our cards be used without 2-step authentication. This it will introduce due to RBI directives.
Have better cars: If UBERBlack is to succeed, it must deliver the Mercs and BMWs it promises.
Ability to book cars in advance
Have a call centre to resolve any issues
Still, UBER is a unique experience and if you can use it wisely(e.g. in less traffic times, or for airport pickups), it is a pleasant alternative to the existing cabs.
