Studies have shown that more than there have been about 79 per cent ride cancellation issues that cab users have reported.
Since the recent tweet got viral, wherein a man from Bengaluru shared a bus ticket sharing his experience after a good waste of time booking a cab and making it to his destination. This again raised the question as to why there have been so many ride cancellations of late.
I was willing to pay 15 times more for a cab as I was in a bit of rush but wasn’t even available. Wasted time booking & getting the dreaded “elli saar” call & then you know what next 🙂 In comes the lovely No. 13 @BMTC_BENGALURU & I’m off to Jayanagar for a princely sum of ₹20 pic.twitter.com/UCkifOE8Mj
— Srinivas Alavilli (@srinualavilli) July 11, 2022
Studies have shown that more than there have been about 79 per cent of ride cancellation issues that cab users have reported.
The two names, not alien to anyone – Ola and Uber have been in the limelight for quite some time now. So, here are a few probable reasons behind such cases in point.
The ever-rising fuel prices
The rising fuel prices have impacted the entire transportation industry and the cab drivers, being the ‘not so rich’ section of the society are also struggling with the ever-increasing fuel costs.
A driver who devotes more than 14 hours to the job every day is spending Rs 20,000 a month on fuel on an average basis. The question is, how much is the cab driver earning then? To add more expenses to his list, many drivers have loans to clear, so they have to pay monthly EMI as well.
Drivers’ inclination towards cash payments
While the country is slowly adapting to digital payments, here, on the contrary, drivers prefer cash payments and this has become one of the reasons behind ride cancellations. Many drivers cancel rides since they see the mode of payment on the app. The reason is they find it difficult to set aside enough money to meet their daily expenses.
Drivers keen to switch professions
The pandemic changed the ways our lives used to be. For the cab drivers, it was about switching their professions. This indicates a very serious safety concern since the newly appointed drivers aren’t much experienced.
There have been multiple instances where drivers chose to become delivery partners of Zomato, Zypto, and Swiggy among others.
The e-commerce industry and with that the logistics industry have seen a boom in the last few years, thereby creating demand for last-mile delivery providers for platforms like Amazon, Myntra, and others.
Alternate sources of income give the driver an option to accept or deny the bookings
Another reason for ride cancellations is that the drivers have stopped relying on a single profession. So, driving cabs is no more the primary and only source of income for many drivers now. The drivers accept a ride if they find it convenient else they drop it. Else, they continue with the other works at hand.
Drivers bat for personal trips, axing aggregators’ cut
Another fact that many of us must have witnessed is that once the driver reaches the location, the driver himself asks to cancel the booking but carry on with the travel. This means the passenger is picked up and dropped to the desired location without the aggregator company being involved.
Affording a car has become a challenge
The increased costs of owning a vehicle has also impacted the Ola -Uber-driven cab industry. Every day one or the other car manufacturer announces a hike in passenger car prices, over-budgeting the lower-middle class drivers.
GST means added costs for drivers
GST has given leverage to travelers in terms of slightly reduced costs. However, this is not what the cab companies or drivers appreciate. The GST has posed problems causing an increase in the lease payments which makes the drivers bear the increase in their costs and look for other employment options.
The demand for different rates for AC and non-AC rides
Another possible reason for the ride cancellations is the demand for AC. While the usual fare charges range between Rs 12-13 per km, the drivers expect a minimum of Rs 24-25 per km because of the additional costs involved in turning the AC on.
The challenging routes and traffic congestion
One persistent culture is whenever a commuter books a mini or a micro ride using the apps, the waiting time increases up to 10-12 mins which should ideally be less than 3-4 mins. This becomes more problematic if the cab is booked for a location that is a bit confusing for the driver, ending up with canceled bookings. The destination is not the issue, what makes the cabbers cancel the bookings is the route to reach the terminus.
High commission rates of the aggregators
It is not just the drivers who are to be blamed. The cab aggregators are the real culprits behind the charges you pay for cancellation fees. The cab drivers are supposed to pay about 25-30 per cent of what they earn to the aggregator as commission.
The failure of cab companies to compensate for the expectations versus real-time issues with their own drivers has just added to the existing chaos and this is why trip cancellations have become very common.
