Chennai: Getting an Ola cab from the city airport or from the Phoenix mall has become more expensive.
Since August, the app-based cab aggregator has, in addition to the usual fare, been collecting ‘transportation hub charges’ of Rs 30-Rs 60 per trip from passengers, attributing it to the convenience offered exclusively to its customers at the said locations.
In the pilot project, Ola and Uber had been collecting less than Rs 10 per trip to and from the airport. The Airports Authority of India, the government agency in charge of maintaining airports in the country, later floated tenders for the scheme and Ola bagged it.
Ola hubs or kiosks, separate pickup or drop points, were set up on the airport premises in an attempt to reduce waiting time and avoid confusion. Similar hubs had been established at Delhi and Bangalore airports earlier.
AAI charges a licence fee for use of space inside an airport for a kiosk and also for pick-up points. Parking and other fees are also levied from the operator.
In other cities, Ola users get an One-Time Password (OTP) they can use to board the next available cab at the hub. In Chennai, customers continue to wait for the assigned cab to reach the pickup point and hence there is not much difference in the waiting time, they say.
Customers like S Dinesh of Thoraipakkam say that Ola should not pass on the additional expenditure as, unlike in other cities, one doesn’t have to walk too far at Chennai airport to reach the cab pick up points or pay tolls. “So Ola should share the burden,” he said.
11/12/18 Ram Sundaram/Times of India
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Since August, the app-based cab aggregator has, in addition to the usual fare, been collecting ‘transportation hub charges’ of Rs 30-Rs 60 per trip from passengers, attributing it to the convenience offered exclusively to its customers at the said locations.
In the pilot project, Ola and Uber had been collecting less than Rs 10 per trip to and from the airport. The Airports Authority of India, the government agency in charge of maintaining airports in the country, later floated tenders for the scheme and Ola bagged it.
Ola hubs or kiosks, separate pickup or drop points, were set up on the airport premises in an attempt to reduce waiting time and avoid confusion. Similar hubs had been established at Delhi and Bangalore airports earlier.
AAI charges a licence fee for use of space inside an airport for a kiosk and also for pick-up points. Parking and other fees are also levied from the operator.
In other cities, Ola users get an One-Time Password (OTP) they can use to board the next available cab at the hub. In Chennai, customers continue to wait for the assigned cab to reach the pickup point and hence there is not much difference in the waiting time, they say.
Customers like S Dinesh of Thoraipakkam say that Ola should not pass on the additional expenditure as, unlike in other cities, one doesn’t have to walk too far at Chennai airport to reach the cab pick up points or pay tolls. “So Ola should share the burden,” he said.
11/12/18 Ram Sundaram/Times of India
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