Ola, Uber & the Traffic

Firstly I want to clarify that this post is not intended to compare Ola and Uber (directly) and the mobile app and/or web traffic these apps generate. This post is mostly about the changes in the Indian city — Bengaluru — after the introduction of Ola and Uber.

As far as I remember, I booked my first Ola cab (mini) late night in some day during 2013. I did that as I had initial free ride and I had to travel long distance and auto drivers will demand 2x money (Yes, auto drivers invented surge pricing before Uber). My frequency of booking Ola & Uber rides increased such a way that I didn’t consider an option for going out on road and hiring an auto. I started to book mini cab casually even If I’m the only person travelling for a short distance.

Yes, Ola & Uber changed my mindset with initial incentives. They also modified the minds of auto and cab drivers with incentives. Even, some people are considering to invest on a Ola/Uber cab to generate passive income. Such is the usage of Ola & Uber in Bangalore. While it looks like Ola and Uber has improved daily commute within the city, it has actually worsened the city traffic.

I happened to have a conversation with an auto driver recently. He explained that there are now too many empty cabs riding on the road making the traffic difficult. He blamed cab aggregators like Ola & Uber for that. He said that the traffic actually increased a lot when a Bandh was announced in Bengaluru when no government buses operated. That is, almost everyone used either their personal vehicle or Ola/Uber that day. Though there was no other option on a Bandh day, most people consider to commute with Ola/Uber than public transportation.

Also he commented about the lack of traffic discipline from new Ola/Uber cab drivers. He added that they don’t know routes, one-ways and parking areas etc., I nodded as I’ve encountered with cab drivers not knowing directions to one of the important railway station in the city — Cantonment. And, nowadays auto drivers casually ask for extra money for the ride after introduction of convenience fee from Ola. And, surge pricing became a normal thing with regular auto drivers after introduction of Uber.

Thankfully Ola and Uber introduced car pooling to address the traffic issues. But it worsened the situation as cab drivers accept only for shared rides as they can complete more rides within stipulated time to get incentive. It now became difficult to book regular cab when in need of urgency. Also there are frequent cancellations from the drivers nowadays and though Ola is tracking whether the cancellation was actually done by user, it is really a frustrating issues.

Also, I’ve heard about auto drivers misusing Ola by booking dummy ride from their another mobile and making empty rides without passenger as a ride with incentive. I’ve myself seen cab drivers asking me to book another ride from another account at the end of my first ride. They wanted me to involve in their fake rides. I will straightaway reject them and give poor rating for them.

I hold no grudge against these giants — Ola & Uber. But it will be great if they take time to train their drivers, instruct them to follow traffic rules, prevent them from misusing their service, setting an upper limit for a driver to cancel the ride (This happens most of the time after asking destination). Driver cancelling a ride after knowing the destination is the most frustrating problem when booking a cab or auto.

Now, Ola is introducing shuttle service despite failed attempts like bike-taxi due to regulations. I hope this will make better change for Bengaluru traffic.