By Samachar Digital News
Chandigarh 01st
July:- The monsoon months of June, July
and August spell doom for commuters who use taxi-hailing apps to reach their
destinations. The sky high cab fares on rainy days or on days when there is
unending traffic, burns a deep hole in a consumer’s pocket. Their travel budget
for whole month takes a hit, leaving them frustrated, dejected and burdened
than usual.
Vistar Gupta, who uses one such app
to get to work said that he usually pay INR 300 to commute from Zirakhpur to his
office in Mohali. During the rainy season, he has even paid INR 600 which is
very frustrating and has messed up his entire monthly budget. The only other
alternative is public transport buses which have a set route and take forever
to reach your destination.
Ride-hailing in Chandigarh has
become difficult for commuters. It lacks transparency and freedom to choose at
various levels. International markets have witnessed a revolution with apps
like inDriver wherein consumer has the power of choice on fare, driver
rating, estimated time of arrival, vehicle model etc so that he/she not only
feels safe but also feels empowered. An app like this can be a solution for cab
facilities in the tricity, providing a service that aids drivers and commuters
to operate in a perfect analogy.
On a wintery day during the New
Year holidays of 2012, the temperature in Yakutsk, Siberia, an eastern region
of Russia, dropped below -45C and the local taxi drivers doubled the cost of
their rides. In order to overcome this issue, the residents of Yakutsk
created a group by the name of “Independent Drivers” on social media. Group
members would list the price they were willing to pay, and drivers accepted
their orders. In just six months, more than 60,000 people had joined the group.
Not long after, the mobile app inDriver was created to replace the group,
allowing passengers to independently set the most optimal terms for their
rides.
Besides wreaking havoc on pocket of
the common man, the currently operating apps charge high percentage of
commission from their drivers which is said to be around 15-20%. The entire
setup is such that neither the consumer nor the drivers are benefitted but just
the companies.
We require an alternate which
resolves this concern for both the commuters as well the cabbies. The commuters
in tri-city not only need better public transport but taxi services which are
more organized and consumer-friendly.
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