CM: Ban on surge pricing to remain post odd-even

‘Strict action against cabs charging more than govt rates’

APP-BASED TAXI SERVICES

THE BAN on surge pricing for private taxi companies will continue even after the odd-even period, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Wednesday.

The chief minister tweeted, “Yes. We will do it,” and also retweeted a suggestion, “Suspension of surge pricing should continue even after #oddeven system. Why should anyone get licence to loot”. The transport department had received calls from commuters, complaining about surge pricing by app-based taxi services, when the second round of odd-even scheme took off on April 15, said government officials.

“Callers have been asking for a refund from private cab companies like Uber and Ola which charged them four or five times the base fares on the pretext of ‘peak-time charges’,” said an official in the transport department which has been on an overdrive, prosecuting errant cab drivers. The department impounded 18 cabs on Monday, 48 on Tuesday and another 48 till Wednesday evening. “We have been impounding cars at night too,” said an official as he entered the transport department’s control room after his afternoon round.

Explaining why cabs were still being impounded, two days after Uber and Ola had suspended the practice of ‘surge pricing’, a nodal officer at the control room explained that ‘normal rates’ applied by cab companies also amount to “overcharging”.

“That is because the base charges these companies apply, sans the surge pricing, is higher than the government prescribed rate of Rs 12.50 per km, as per the radio taxi scheme. Uber charges a meter down rate of Rs 100 for the first 4 kms and Ola charges Rs 40 over their Rs 6 per km charges. Both are flouting the minimum charges permissible for economy radio cabs. We have been impounding them on this basis,” he said. Citing an example, he said, “We impounded a cab at a point 3 km from the airport. We found that the driver had thrust a Rs 150 ‘toll bill’ on the passenger, who had been picked up from the airport. We issued the driver a challan and helped the passenger get another cab,” he added.

Transport department officials said legally, given the rules of the radio taxi scheme, they had the power to impound all cabs registered with companies like Ola and Uber. But they said they have been selective in their enforcement because they did not want “the public to suffer”.

An official explained how the hundreds of calls to the helpline - 01142400400 - are diligently being monitored.

“All the calls are received at a call centre in Noida. The call details are e-mailed to control room at the Transport Authority at Civil Lines. Officials go through the details, contact the caller for more information like car registration number details. Officials also go through complaints e-mailed to taxicomplaintdelhi@gmail.com by passengers,” he said.

“After going through the complaints, we mapped ISBTS, railway stations and the airport as the areas where cab drivers comprising ex-servicemen are likely to overcharge their passengers, especially at night. So transport department teams at these points conducted the most inspections and impounded the most number of cars,” said an enforcement official.