Originally Posted by GMOChicken

You misunderstood, this isn't an Uber/Ola feature, the drivers just never pay the company what they owe for cash fares. This is why so many of them absolutely hate credit card payments & only do cash fares, because the company ends up keeping 100% of the payment to offset what the driver owes the company from cash fares.

Originally Posted by SeeBuyFly

This makes absolutely no sense.

If for example a driver manages to get 100% of its fares in cash, the company isn't going to say "Drat, foiled again, you get keep it all". It will run a negative balance against the driver and require that balance to be paid back somehow.

Yes, if there are lots of cash fares and few CC/mobile wallet fares, then the company could keep all/most of the electronic fares to collect its cut. But the fault is not that of the electronic fares. The situation is the result of the drivers keeping the cash fares.

But I suppose people don't understand math---and I don't mean just rideshare drivers.

Originally Posted by malgudi

The implication (from what I read in #2 above) is that the you are asked to cancel the ride via the app and then pay with cash. It's like you never used Uber/Ola to start with.

Originally Posted by GMOChicken

You've been really lucky then. Rideshare in India in general is inundated with scams, BOM & DEL are terrible & although I have not used them in Chennai I have no reason to believe that it is different there. Uber & Ola even station customer service reps at the DEL & BOM airport pickup locations to help frustrated passengers to deal with the drivers. I use taxis from the airport prepaid taxi kiosk whenever possible.

Some of the more common scams.

1. The no-show. Drivers get paid a little money if you cancel a ride, so they accept rides they have no intention of fulfilling. They just wait until you get frustrated and cancel, pocketing a small stream of money for doing nothing.

2. The cancel after pickup and pay in cash. The driver will pick you up, but pressure you to cancel the ride (paying uber & the driver the cancellation charge) and pay cash directly to the driver. Drivers then pressure you to pay extra sometimes.

3. Tolls/etc not included. The drivers insist that tolls, airport parking, etc. are not included in the fare and must be paid to the driver in cash.

4. The no-pickup unless fare paid in cash. Uber/Ola in India accept payments in cash to the driver (not just by credit card). Drivers prefer this because they do not pay the rideshare company their percentage. The driver will accept your ride then phone you and ask if you are paying by card or with cash. If you are paying by card the driver will no-show leaving you hanging until you get frustrated and cancel (paying uber & the driver the cancellation charge)

5. The no-pickup unless fare is long enough. The driver will accept your ride then phone you and ask where you are going. If your destination is too close the driver will no-show leaving you hanging until you get frustrated and cancel (paying uber & the driver the cancellation charge).

None of this is the drivers fault really. Drivers used to make a lot of money on Uber/Ola a few years ago, when the companies were pouring VC money into the market as driver incentives. That stopped a couple of years ago & drivers are barely making subsistence now and are forced to scam you. Rideshare companies are absolutely powerless to do anything about this because of massive driver turnover.

Originally Posted by bryanwallace

seems this means best to avoid? not worth trying a trip from chennai airport to intercontinental in middle of the night?

Originally Posted by Keyser

I have faced some of these problems in BOM but then again I have faced similar problems in NYC & London as well. London was specially bad when it came to drivers accepting rides with no intention of showing up. Some even tried to charge me extra because I had 2 suitcases & a carry on bag, all of which fit in the trunk of the car. My last 3 trips to London have been full of Uber problems.

Perhaps I have been lucky in MAA but so far all my Uber/Ola rides have been smooth.

Originally Posted by quarryking

Sad to read of the same issues being faced even in NYC & London.
I think the problem is basically a drastically reduced earning potential for the uber drivers these days compared to a much larger earning they all briefly enjoyed at the start of this whole deal.

Originally Posted by Keyser

I have been surprised with how bad Uber has been in London. On my last trip the average wait time was more than double of the initial indicated time when the ride is confirmed. 50% of the time the driver would cancel.

I booked a regular Uber ride from the airport & the driver made a fuss about the fact that I had 4 items of luggage. I had 2 medium size suitcases & a carry on bag that all fit in the trunk. I was going to put my backpack on the back seat with me & the driver said I should have booked a larger cab because all my luggage did not fit in the trunk. He asked me for extra payment & I refused. He pushed a couple of times but I just asked him to cancel the ride & I would request another one. After this he reluctantly agreed.

On my way back to the airport I had 4 or 5 drivers cancel on me after accepting the ride. They wouldn't also cancel straight away but 5-7 minutes after accepting the ride. This lead to a situation where I wasted a lot of time waiting & was running late for my flight. The driver that finally arrived was in a SUV & after looking at my luggage he said that I would have to pay extra since I had 4 pieces & should have booked an XL ride. I told him I had taken regular Uber rides in many countries with the same luggage & never had a problem since all the luggage (except for my backpack) would easily fit in the trunk. He said he would not allow it. I could not afford to wait for another ride because of all the cancellations so I told him I would give him an extra �10. He asked for �20 & we finally settled on �15.

At the end of the day the point is that Uber has started to become a problem in many places. To signal out MAA alone would be highly inaccurate.

Originally Posted by quarryking

Going by your recent experiences in London, looks to be no different from the scene here. How was the condition of the cars there ?
Here have noticed the state of the cars & their general condition is pretty bad and doubt they even clean the inside (floor mats) even once a week. Of course you do encounter do the odd car all spick and span, but that's a rarity for sure.
Used Uber in Australia recently and it was pretty ok.

Originally Posted by fotographer

One of the main reasons is that the J fare into Chennai is cheaper on OW than to BOM , even with the flight to and from BOM..so was hoping to spend a few days on the outbound part of the trip..

Originally Posted by legionnaire

If you are willing to drive , Thanjavur is 6-7 hours away. The architecture there reflects several 1000 years of Indian history.

Originally Posted by qraec777

Thank you for the tip! This looks promising and I might pay this place a visit!