Uber
Technologies Inc. and its competitor in India, Ola, have had cars
seized this week in the country’s technology capital of Bangalore for
allegedly overcharging customers, a city transport official said.
San Francisco-based Uber and its Bangalore-based rival Ola
square off for an increasing number of customers in India who use the
taxi-hailing services. The government of the southern state of
Karnataka, of which Bangalore is the capital, banned “surge pricing”
on April 6, and set a per-kilometer price ceiling for air-conditioned
and non air-conditioned cabs, while customers across India complained in
petitions and on social media against the higher fares.
“Surge pricing is not in the rules,” Gowda said. “You have
to follow the rules of the land, you cannot violate the rules of the
land and harass the public.”
Commuters are encouraged to file police complaints against Uber and Ola if they are subject to overcharging, he said.
Personalized E-mails
Uber this week sent out personalized e-mails to its base of
users in Bangalore, saying that its pricing ensures reliability and
availability for those who agree “to pay a bit more” on occasions such
as weekends and holidays.
“It’s a bit of economics 101: supply and demand adjust in
response to price changes,” Uber said in the e-mail. Airlines and hotels
follow the same practice, it said.
Neither Uber nor Ola responded to e-mails requesting comment on the seizure of their vehicles.
In February, Nitish Parnami, an Uber customer in New Delhi,
started a campaign on online platform Change.org urging Amit Jain,
Uber’s head of operations in India, and Travis Kalanick, the chief
executive officer, to regulate pricing. The petition has received more
than 37,000 signatures.
Uber responded online to the petition saying, “higher prices
are required in order to get cars on the road and keep them on the road
during the busiest times.”
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