UberAuto cheaper than Ola, govt app unavailable

NEW DELHI: As Uber launched an auto-hailing service in the capital, HT on Friday took a ride in an UberAuto to compare it with its competitors— Ola and the Delhi Government’s app Pooch-O.

Uber was in news last year after a financial analyst was raped by one of its drivers.

Senior officials of the appbased cab hailing service said the introduction of the auto service was an attempt to regain its credibility in Delhi’s market.

To counter competition from Ola, which had launched a similar service in November, Uber decided to keep the rates minimal as per the Delhi government guidelines.

For every ride, the driver gets `40 from the company. An additional `1000 is paid as bonus when the driver completes 20 trips in a month, as against Ola, which charges `10 extra as convenience charges, above the meter charges, and pays ` 30 to the driver for every trip. No additional bonus is given to the drivers. “It is a good way to get customers and to add to my income. Apart from this, the company allows us to make independent trips also,” said Ravinder Kumar, an Uber auto driver.

Uber has tried to minimise instances of overcharging by the drivers making it mandatory for drivers to click a picture of the meter reading after every ride and uploading it on their profile. This service is not available in Ola. Ola, however, allows users to either make cashless payments or pay the driver after the ride.

Both the apps assure service within 10 minutes. Delhi government’s app, Pooch-O, which claims to be a ‘know all about your city’ initiative, showed the message, ‘no driver available, try after sometime’. The service could not be booked.