August 24, 2024, New Delhi: Getting a taxi ride from Bangalore airport has become more expensive as app-based aggregators Uber and Ola have passed on the 20-40% hike in airport pick up fees by Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) to the consumers. The other app-based taxi services are expected to soon follow suit.

Over the past 2 years, there has been a proliferation of apps-based taxi services in Bangalore from Namma Yatri to Nano Travels. It is over a year since Karnataka government announced plans to start its own ride-hailing app. While Uber and Ola continue to thrive, they are facing competition from several other app-taxi services like BluSmart and some new local apps. Three major issues dodging the ride-hailing industry are high commission rates by cab aggregators cutting into the cab drivers’ earnings, peak-hour price hikes for customers and the Motor Vehicles Act (MVA) violations.

The Karnataka transport department, in an order issued on February 3, 2024, announced revised cab fares for aggregators, according to reports. The minimum fare for the first 4 kms was set at INR 100, with every subsequent km charged at INR 24 for entry-level cabs. The flexible-fare option in this order has been eliminated, requiring operators to adhere to fixed rates. Vehicles are categorized based on cost, with three tiers of fares. Changes in fare structure aim to address demands from taxi drivers’ unions. The new rules are applicable to all ride-hailing apps in Bengaluru and the rest of the state. While the rules were announced in February this year, they are yet to be implemented.

Capping fares directly impacts the earnings of ride-hailing companies, which currently use surge pricing and other dynamic pricing models to maximize profits during peak hours or high-demand periods and offer discounts during lean periods. Taxi aggregators believe that the new model could lead to reduction in availability of drivers during peak periods and result in longer wait times for riders.

With lot of consumer inputs coming on taxi aggregators in the last 8 months, LocalCircles has conducted a survey to find out how residents of this mega city view the services of Uber, Ola and BluSmart. The survey received over 10,000 responses from users of such services in Bangalore. 59% respondents were men while 41% respondents were women.

85% Uber consumers surveyed in Bangalore experienced one or more issues in the last 12 months; Most common ones being drivers cancelling rides, talking on mobile while driving and surge pricing

Through this year, many Uber taxi passengers have used the social media to highlight their grievances like overcharging or malfunctioning ACs in the cab leading to heated exchanges with the drivers. The survey asked Uber app-taxi service users, “When you traveled in Uber taxis in the last 12 months, what have been all the issues you have faced?” Some among the 3,497 who responded indicated more than one issue. The biggest complaint by 69% of respondents is “drivers talking on mobile”; 54% indicated “surge pricing/ too expensive”; 46% stated “driver cancelled ride”; 38% of respondents stated, “vehicle not clean”; 8% stated “customer service not responsive”; 8% complained that “driver not courteous”; 8% indicated that they had “safety concerns with the driver” and 31% indicated “other issues” not mentioned. However, 15% of respondents stated, “it was wonderful, no issues faced”. To sum up, 85% Uber consumers surveyed in Bangalore experienced one or more issues in the last 12 months; Most common ones being drivers cancelling rides, talking on mobile while driving and surge pricing.

62% Uber consumers surveyed in Bangalore appreciate ease of booking/availability

Despite the horrifying experiences shared by some of Uber users in Bangalore, the app-taxi services have been recording increasing demand. The survey asked app-taxi users, “When you traveled in Uber taxis in the last 12 months, what have been all the things you appreciated?” Some among the 3,476 who responded to the question indicated more than one plus points with 62% stating “ease of booking/ availability”; 38% of respondents stating “drivers are courteous”; 23% indicated “clean cars”; 15% of respondents stated “no surge pricing”; 15% stated “customer service was responsive”; 8% of respondents stated "drivers didn’t cancel” the ride; and 15% indicated they appreciated “other things than the ones above”. In addition. 15% of respondents did not give a clear answer. To sum up, 62% Uber consumers surveyed in Bangalore appreciate ease of booking/availability.

93% Ola consumers surveyed in Bangalore experienced one or more issues in the last 12 months; Most common ones being vehicle not clean, talking on mobile while driving and surge pricing

Ola few months back came into the news when a lady raised alarm over a fake fare payment scam in Bangalore. The survey asked app-taxi users in Bangalore, “When you traveled in Ola taxis in the last 12 months, what have been all the issues you have faced?” Some among the 3,503 Ola taxi users indicated more than one issue with 78% indicating “surge pricing / too expensive”; 69% stating “driver talking on mobile”; 69% stating “vehicle not clean”; 62% stating “driver cancelled ride”; 54% of respondents stating “driver not courteous”; 47% of respondents stating “customer service not responsive”; 23% had “safety concern with the driver”; and 16% of respondents had “other issues” not mentioned. In addition, 16% of respondents did not give a clear answer and 7% stated that they had no grievance as “it was wonderful, no issues faced”. To sum up, 93% Ola consumers surveyed in Bangalore experienced one or more issues in the last 12 months; Most common ones being vehicle not clean, talking on mobile while driving and surge pricing.

60% Ola consumers surveyed in Bangalore appreciate ease of booking and availability

Consistent demand for and growth of Ola taxis shows that all is not bad with this app-based taxi service. The survey asked consumers, “When you traveled in Ola taxis in the last 12 months, what have been all the things you appreciated?” Some among the 3,169 respondents indicated more than one plus point with 60% appreciating “ease of availability/ booking”; 21% stated that “drivers didn’t cancel”; 21% appreciated that Ola “drivers didn’t cancel”; 21% are happy that there is “no surge pricing”; 21% liked the “clean cars”; 21% stated the “drivers were courteous”; 10% stated that the “customer service was responsive” and 21% indicated “other things than the things above”. However, 30% also stated that they “had a terrible experience” with Ola cab services. To sum up, 60% of Ola consumers surveyed in Bangalore appreciate ease of booking/availability.

61% BluSmart consumers surveyed in Bangalore experienced one or more issues in the last 12 months; Most common ones being drivers talking on mobile, not being courteous and non-responsive

BluSmart has completed over one year of operations in Bengaluru. With many of the BluSmart rides being scheduled rides to the airport, one of the consistent complaints against BluSmart has been drivers arriving earlier than scheduled time and then repeatedly calling the customer to come. The survey asked those who have used BluSmart services, “what have been all the issues you have faced?” Some among the 3,981 Bengaluru residents who have used BluSmart service indicated more than one problem. The biggest issue pointed out by 61% of respondents is “driver not courteous”; 61% indicated that “driver was talking on mobile” while driving; 39% of respondents indicated that “customer service was not responsive”; 21% shared that they had “safety concerns with the driver”; and 21% indicated that they were “forced to book a rental instead of a point-to-point ride/ too expensive”. To sum up, 61% BluSmart consumers surveyed in Bangalore experienced one or more issues in the last 12 months; Most common ones being drivers talking on mobile, not being courteous and non-responsive.

BluSmart consumers surveyed in Bangalore appreciate that drivers don’t cancel rides, and no surge pricing is levied

A point no respondent complained about was the cleanliness of the BluSmart cab which means the platform is providing well kept cars. The survey next asked BluSmart users, “When you traveled in BluSmart taxis in the last 12 months, what have been all the things you appreciated?” Some among the 3,899 respondents to this query indicated more than one point in favour of BluSmart taxis. The biggest plus point according to all the respondents is that “drivers didn’t cancel”; 60% expressed happiness that there was “no surge pricing”; 41% indicated that they were happy with the “clean cars”; and 19% found “drivers were courteous”. In essence, BluSmart consumers surveyed in Bangalore appreciate that drivers don’t cancel rides, and no surge pricing is levied. It must be noted that BluSmart taxis are all company owned cars where the driver is an employee. The car is maintained at a company center and any cancellations done are done by the company instead of the drive.

Comparative of taxi aggregator platforms on mobile phone usage by drivers: 69% app taxi consumers in Bangalore surveyed say that Uber as well as Ola drivers talk on mobile phone while driving; 61% say the same for BluSmart

Comparative of taxi aggregator platforms on cleanliness: 69% app taxi consumers in Bangalore surveyed say that Ola’s vehicles are not clean; 38% say the same for Uber; No one has cleanliness issues with BluSmart vehicles

Comparative of taxi aggregator platforms on cancellation of rides: 66% Ola consumers and 46% Uber consumers in Bangalore surveyed say that cancellation of rides by drivers is a common issue they experience

Comparative of taxi aggregator platforms on fares/surge pricing: 78% Ola consumers and 54% Uber consumers in Bangalore surveyed say that they find fares/surge pricing too expensive

In summary, while Bangalore has plentiful choices to offer consumers when it comes to app-taxi services, the survey brings out the fact that there is no clear leader when it comes to consumer choice. For instance, 85% Uber consumers surveyed in Bangalore experienced one or more issues in the last 12 months; Most common ones being drivers cancelling rides, talking on mobile while driving and surge pricing. Similarly, 93% Ola consumers surveyed in Bangalore experienced one or more issues in the last 12 months; Most common ones being vehicle not clean, talking on mobile while driving and surge pricing. In the case of BluSmart, 61% of consumers surveyed in Bangalore experienced one or more issues in the last 12 months: Most common ones being drivers talking on mobile, not being courteous and non-responsive. The consumers of all three cab services appreciated some of the fine points of each: 62% Uber consumers surveyed and 60% Ola consumers in Bangalore appreciate the ease of booking/availability with their apps being fine-tuned over the years. BluSmart consumers surveyed in Bangalore appreciate clean cars and that drivers don’t cancel rides and that no surge pricing is levied. However, a point to be noted is that many of the app-based taxi services like BluSmart have peak hour pricing including for night/ early hours rides to the airport. As new services like Rapido, Indrive, Namma Yatri expand taxi services in Bangalore, there is clearly an opportunity to become a market leader by learning from the pros and cons of each one of these top 3 players.

Survey Demographics

The survey received over 10,000 responses from residents of Bangalore. 59% respondents were men while 41% respondents were women. The survey was conducted via LocalCircles platform and all participants were validated citizens who had to be registered with LocalCircles to participate in this survey.