US-based ride-hailing cab service sweats out Ola, Uber
By S Jha
New Delhi, December 17: Ride-hailing cab drivers in the Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) have turned into marketing czars of the US-based rival of Ola and Uber, asking passengers to download the App. The drivers are all praise for the new ride-hailing entrant, as they claim that it’s making both the drivers and passengers happy.
For several years Ola and Uber have dominated the ride-hailing market in Delhi NCR. The two App-based services have almost made the ‘kaali-pili’ taxi in Delhi NCR a history. But the two ride-hailing giants now are facing heat, and is fast losing their market shares.
“Ola and Uber have almost lost 60 per cent of the market share in Delhi NCR. Passengers for long were harassed by high charges, frequent cancellation of bookings on the part of drivers, and long waiting time. The new ride-hailing service has in a quick time captured a strong market share in Delhi NCR by making available best pricing for passengers and drivers,” said Ashok Sharma, who was driving an Uber client to home in Noida.
Another driver said that the California-based inDrive, a ride hailing service provider, is giving run for the money to both Ola and Uber, eating away their market share by aggressively pricing the rides. The drivers are doing the ‘word of mouth’ advertisement, as they make more money per ride than what Ola and Uber offer them.
“For a ride that may cost Rs 600 in Ola and Uber, inDrive offers multiple price options, which would be Rs 200 less than the two other ride-hailing Apps. In the case of Ola and Uber, toll taxes are pocketed by them. In the case of inDrive passengers get the options to pay in cash to drivers. Also, drivers know what amount they will be getting for each ride, as they accept the ride price options,” said Sharma.
Ride-hailing can drivers invariably keep open all Apps on their mobile phones, and they claim that they give preference to inDrive because they make more money per trip. This is also gaining popularity among the commuters, because Ola and Uber drivers have become notorious for cancelling the trips if the destinations didn’t suit them. “Here inDrive all information such as destination and price are shown to drivers and once they accept they cannot cancel it,” said Manjit Singh, another ride-hailing driver.
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