Ride cancellation and surge pricing are top concerns of Uber, Ola users in Bengaluru: Survey

Users of app-based taxi services in Bengaluru have said they faced issues such as ride cancellation, surge pricing, and drivers talking on mobile phones in the past year, according to a survey conducted by Local Circles.

With a surge in consumer feedback on taxi aggregators over the past eight months, LocalCircles conducted a survey to gauge how residents of the city perceive the app-based taxi services of Uber, Ola, and BluSmart.

The survey garnered over 10,000 responses; 59% of respondents were men and 41% were women. All the respondents were verified citizens required to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in the survey.

LocalCircles is a community social media platform which enables citizens and small businesses to escalate issues for policy and enforcement interventions and assist the government in drafting effective policies.

“As new services like Rapido, inDrive, Namma Yatriexpand taxi services in Bengaluru, there is clearly an opportunity to become a market leader by learning from the pros and cons of each one of these top 3 players,” says the survey report. 

Around 85% of consumers using the Uber service in the city reported facing issues such as ride cancellations, drivers talking on mobile phones while driving, and surge pricing. Around 69% of users were concerned about drivers talking on the mobile while driving. Other frequent issues included surge pricing/too expensive (54%), driver cancelled ride (46%), and vehicle not clean (38%).  

In addition, 8% of respondents cited that customer service was not responsive, while another 8% mentioned that the driver was not courteous, and 8% had safety concerns with the driver. Furthermore, 31% reported other issues not detailed in the survey.

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Among the 3,503 Ola taxi users surveyed, 78% of respondents complained about surge pricing and rides being too expensive.

Other issues included driver talking on mobile and vehicles not being clean; both issues were reported by 69% of users. Additionally, 62% of respondents experienced ride cancellation by the driver, while 54% noted that the driver was not courteous, and 47% found customer service not responsive. 

Safety concerns with the driver were reported by 23% of respondents, and 16% mentioned other issues not specified. Furthermore, 16% of respondents did not provide a clear answer, and 7% stated they had no grievances, describing their experience as "wonderful" with no issues faced.

While BluSmart users indicated more than one problem, they appreciated that the service avoids ride cancellations and surge pricing. Out of 3,899 respondents, 60% valued the absence of surge pricing, 41% were pleased with the clean cars, and 19% appreciated that drivers were courteous.

However, one of the consistent complaints against BluSmart was that drivers arrived earlier than scheduled time and then repeatedly called the customer to come.