Cab aggregators Ola, Uber, Jugnoo and Meru are attending a meeting called by the consumer affairs ministry to explain details on operations, fare pricing algorithm and drivers’ payment structure, sources told CNBC-TV18. After the discussions, inputs will be incorporated to formulate guidelines for online cab aggregators to protect consumers.
The guidelines will be in addition to the already existing protocols issued by central and state transport departments. The consumer affairs ministry is likely to lay down standard operating procedures (SOPs) on addressing consumer grievances with set timelines, the sources said.
The consumer affairs ministry called a meeting after taking cognisance of complaints against cab aggregators, primarily Ola and Uber.
The meeting comes after complaints from commuters, including spike in cab fares and also of instances when drivers have refused to turn on the AC in the vehicle, citing the rising oil and gas rates.
Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh told CNBC-TV18, “We have strictly asked cab aggregators to resolve consumer complaints. We have given them a warning to immediately come up with possible solutions to redress consumer complaints or else competent authority will take penal actions against them.”
The government is also looking into how accurate and reasonable the fares charged are according to the destination as well as the cancellation charges.
Commuters in Delhi faced difficulties last month as many auto and cab drivers had called a strike to protest against the rising fuel prices.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) will also meet cab aggregators over their algorithms amid commuters facing difficulty due to Uber and Ola drivers’ ride cancellations, cancellation charges, random surge pricing, and long waiting times.
The regulator is set to ask cab-hailing platforms to showcase their algorithms related to ride cancellations and surge pricing, along with questioning them over other issues.
According to a survey report by community-based social media platform LocalCircles last month, about 71 per cent of customers say that ride cancellation issues by drivers continue despite the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020.
Over 45 per cent of app-based taxi consumers stated they were charged more than 1.5 times in surge pricing despite the threshold being set by the Motor Vehicle Aggregator Guidelines 2020.
The report also said the extortionist practices of some drivers to undertake private trips were reported by consumers as a major concern.
As thousands of Indian riders continue to suffer from paying cancellation fees without their faults, the ride-hailing major in Australia admitted that it made false or misleading statements in cancellation warning messages and taxi fare estimates, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The consumer affairs secretary had on Monday told PTI, “We have sought information from cab aggregators how they handle cancellation charges and surge pricing and how they calculate fare.”
He also said, “We have asked why the charges to go from point A to point B are different for two different people.” The ministry would also like to know whether these ride-hailing apps have taken adequate measures to safeguard consumer data on their platforms.”
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