The first major spell of monsoon rain in Kolkata on Friday morning left office-goers battling not only waterlogged roads and traffic snarls, but also soaring app cab fares.
Across the city, commuters reported that ride prices had nearly tripled across five platforms — Uber, Ola, Rapido, InDrive and Yatri Sathi.
As rain lashed the city throughout the morning, demand for rides surged while the number of available vehicles seemed to shrink, forcing many commuters to either wait for hours or pay significantly higher fares.
“I booked a bike ride from my office. I came home completely soaked in the rain. Then the rider asked me to pay Rs 100 instead of Rs 70 because he had brought me home while getting wet. My usual commute to the office in Kasba costs only Rs 22,” said Mrinmoy Sarkar, a resident of Garia.
The rain-hit commute was further disrupted by a fault on the Blue Line on the Metro network.
According to Metro Railway, at 10.37am, smoke was observed emanating from a coach of an Up train at Rabindra Sarobar station. “As a safety precautionary measure, all the passengers were deboarded for internal examination of the rake at our works,” a Metro Railway spokesperson said. Services were affected briefly as officials carried out safety checks on the train.
Others found themselves staring at inflated fares as they waited for them to decrease as the morning gave way to noon.
“I waited for an hour for the fares to go down, but it kept showing Rs 530-something to Central Kolkata on Uber. Usually, it is Rs 300 from Behala. Rapido showed more than Rs 700,” said Shreya Dutta, a sales professional and resident of Behala.
For some, the ordeal extended beyond higher fares.
“It took me about 4.5 hours from Nayabad to New Town today. Normally, it takes 45 to 50 minutes. Usually, the fare on InDrive is Rs 370-490; today, I paid Rs 580 after paying Rs 10 extra. At Sector V, the cab driver stopped the car and said he would not go any further if there was more water,” said Pansy Saha, a professional.
According to Ola's website, peak pricing is an additional charge applied when demand for cabs exceeds the number of available vehicles in an area. Factors like office rush hours, heavy rain, holidays and local events can trigger higher fares. The company states that ‘peak pricing is not a fixed charge and varies depending on the demand for cabs.’
Uber describes a similar procedure, known as surge pricing. According to the company, ‘bad weather, rush hour, and special events, for instance, may cause unusually large numbers of people to want to request a ride with Uber all at the same time.’ Riders are informed when surge pricing is in effect and can choose whether to pay the higher fare or wait for rates to drop.
My Kolkata also reached out to Uber and Rapido for comment. Their responses are awaited.