Being a Kochiite since 2008, I’ve traveled to most parts of the city, and here are two mounting problems that I’ve faced everywhere – choking traffic and errant auto and cab drivers. Traffic menace keeps getting worse each day and so are the number of rude and indecent auto and taxi drivers who rip-off passengers by demanding jaw-dropping rates.
You will get caught up in traffic jams at every signal in every 5 minutes during peak hours of traffic. Police officials are deployed at most key locations in the city to speed up traffic; yet, you might get stuck on the roads for hours together due to unmanageable traffic blocks that have exacerbated considerably with the ongoing Kochi Metro construction.
Depend on auto or taxi services and you’re in for endless troubles. Let me narrate one among the bitter experiences I've had – It was a usual Monday morning and I was on my way to office, unaware about an abrupt auto strike. I flagged an auto and headed to my office. The vehicle had hardly moved a few yards ahead and it was surrounded by a group of uncouth and belligerent auto drivers who shouted at me and the driver and threatened to beat him up. I was unwell and told them that I won’t be able to walk in the hot sun, but my requests fell on deaf ears. I was forced to move out of the vehicle, had to pay the fare, put up with the rudeness, and walk all the way to my office. Here comes the most ironical part – A police man watching my ordeal from a nearby traffic signal and never came forward to help me.
Most of the auto and cab drivers enjoy unfettered reign in the city, and keep fleecing the public by charging exorbitant rates. Some even ply without permits and yet get off scot-free. They flout traffic rules, never ply on meters, refuse destinations, and decide rates as per their whims and fancies. You can hardly see an auto with a properly functioning fare meter. They are either dysfunctional or fully tampered. The only safest and reasonable mode of transportation is Uber. While they don’t help deal with the city traffic snarls, ride-hailing services like Uber offer innumerable advantages that are hard to ignore.
I have been an Uber rider since they first launched their services in Kochi. Safety, reasonable fares, and upfront pricing before I hope in (no haggling or arguments at the end of a ride) are the most important reasons why I choose Uber over other modes of transportation. They help hail taxis from anywhere, anytime. I don’t have to wait for hours and keep flailing my arm for a taxi or auto. Instead, I can book a taxi at the tap of a button and get nice, GPS-monitored rides in swanky cars, and the app shares every bit of detail about the chosen route and the driver. It also helps share my trip status with my parents back in my hometown.
As someone who travels alone on most days, my safety is my utmost priority. Believe it or not, Uber taxis are secure, even while travelling in unfamiliar surroundings, highly cost-effective (much lesser than autos and conventional taxis), and utmost convenient all the time. Their online payment options are immensely advantageous and so are the carpooling services, a real game-changer that enables comfortable rides at competitive rates. Uber carpooling helps share rides and split the costs with three others who requests rides along similar routes. No wonder why they enjoy an enviable 5 to 10% week-on-week growth, with about 3.5 lakh customers per month. With exciting discount offers that I get to enjoy practically every week, why would I bother to choose any other mode of transport or put up with the tantrums of impolite and greedy drivers?
But of late, Uber cab drivers in Kochi are getting waylaid, abused, and assaulted by unruly auto and cab drivers every other day. The situation is alarming and might likely worsen in the coming days if no stringent actions are taken against the offenders. This growing ire is absolutely unjustifiable. Online cab aggregators like Uber thrive by leaps and bounds because they promise safe, time-bound, and impeccable service without burning a hole in a rider’s wallet. And in a democratic country like ours, everyone has the right to work hard and enjoy a slice of the pie.
Unruliness and greediness are the sole reasons why conventional taxi and auto drivers face a major drop in their revenues. Hooliganism and vandalism will not help anyone find their footing in today’s fast-paced and competitive transportation market. And the ongoing apathy of the authorities will only drive forward-thinking global ride hailing companies away from the state. Strong and sustainable measures are the need of the hour to protect online cab aggregators from the thugs among auto drivers and local cabbies. It’s the only effective way to stop all the ongoing organized assaults and abuses long before they intensify and spiral out of control.