Bhubaneswar, Sept. 11: App cabs have become the cool new mode of transport for many people in the city. Most people now don't mind spending a little extra to enjoy a more comfortable and hassle-free ride.
App cabs are being preferred not only by those going to the airport or the railway station, but also those going to see family and friends, on a shopping spree or for a late-night movie.
"There were days when booking a taxi was not only a time-consuming affair, but also a costly one," said Abhisek Satapathy, 23, a student, who lives in Rasulgarh. He added that app cab fares have now become more transparent and that the provision of getting the estimated fare while booking such a cab has also made things easier.
Snehlata Dash, 51, a homemaker who lives at Saheed Nagar, said that travelling in buses and auto-rickshaws was difficult for her. "My daughter once booked an app cab for me for coming home from Rasulgarh and the car had arrived in five minutes. The ride was hassle-free and comfortable," she said, adding that she had been using new cabs ever since.
"Bhubaneswar is emerging as a hub for educational institutions and various start-up ventures," said Varun Mundkur, who is in charge of Uber in the city. He added that the response of the people of the city to app cabs has not only been encouraging, but overwhelming. Mundkur added that a transparent fare system ensured that people did not fall prey to over-pricing.
An app cab ride from Unit-I to Rasulgarh costs approximately Rs 150 depending on traffic conditions. A reserved auto-rickshaw for the same stretch costs around Rs 90,while a shared one costs only Rs 10. But, to travel in a shared auto-rickshaw, one has to change the vehicle twice and it will take one at least half an hour to cover the distance of mere five kilometres.
Manoranjan Kar 54, a state government employee who lives at GGP Colony said the monopoly of autorickshaws was now under threat.
"I could not take a shared auto-rickshaw or a city bus as I was carrying some luggage. So, I decided to board a reserved auto-rickshaw but they demanded almost thrice the amount for what would otherwise have cost me Rs 100. Then, I hailed an Uber cab and reached my destination by paying Rs 154 based on meter pricing."
The regional transport officer for Bhubaneswar Zone-I, L.M. Sethi, said that more than 1,000 app-based taxis were operating in the city at present. "Around 50 taxis get registered with the RTO-I every month," he said.
Ola cabs, a major app cab service provider, had last year decided to increase its fleet in Bhubaneswar to 750.
Various factors, such as convenience, fare transparency and passenger safety, have drawn the city residents to use app cabs more and more. One can easily download a free app of the service providers on one's smart phone and the moment one books a cab, the estimated fare, vehicle number, and the name and photograph of the driver all come up on the phone instantly.
An Uber cab driver, Narendra Swain, 35, said: "The number of rides per day for a single vehicle has gone up substantially in the last one year in the city," Swain said. He, however, added that often they have to face the wrath of auto-rickshaw unions at the railway station and the airport.
