Online cab aggregators Ola and Uber have ‘temporarily suspended peak and surge pricing’ in Delhi NCR, following Delhi government’s announcement that it would take strict action, including impound cabs and cancellation of permits, against those who would flout government rules. Note that Karnataka Government has already impounded some Ola and Uber vehicles for charging their users over the government decided rate of Rs 19.5/km, after banning surge pricing in the state. Key takeaways from Uber’s statement - Surge pricing = cars available on the road: Uber sent out a press statement by Gagan Bhatia, its general manager for Uber North (India) stating what it has been saying all along: Surge pricing kicks in when demand exceeds supply, and ‘maximises the number of trips and minimises the number of people stranded.’ - 92% trips happened on regular fares: Uber then claims that 92% of the trips in Delhi (timeline not mentioned) took place on regular fares, including during 1-15 January 2016, when the odd even scheme was first implemented. - Uber users need to ‘type out the surge multiplier’ to confirm surge pricing: The company then mentions that the app notifies ‘every customer in big bold images in text..and has to type in what the multiplier was to double confirm’ the agreement with surge pricing to take a ride. This seems like a feature only accessible in Delhi, because in other cities, we’ve never had to type out the multiplier to confirm accepting surge pricing. For a user in any other city,…
