Uber India hikes cab prices amid rising fuel prices

The ride-hailing service Uber has hiked cab prices across many cities in India, said the company’s Director of Central Operations, Nitish Bhushan, via a new blog post.

Uber India hikes fares to "cushion drivers" from the impact of rising fuel prices. The ride-hailing service has increased ride prices across many cities in the country, informed company’s Director of Central Operations, Nitish Bhushan, via a new blog post.

In a blog post, Bhushan said that "the hike in fuel prices has impacted everyone, especially ridesharing drivers who have felt the pinch of rising fuel costs." The driver members on the council reportedly raised rising fuel prices as the key issue for Uber.

"We are always striving to make driving with Uber a viable and attractive option for drivers and the recent hike in fares will directly boost their earnings per trip," Bhushan said in the blog post.

Last week, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) warned ride-hailing platforms to fix consumer complaints related to ride cancellations, cancellation charges, random surge pricing, and long waiting times, or else face penalties. The authority previously received several complaints of unfair trading practices like drivers forcing riders to cancel trips, and more.

The CCPA recently grilled cab aggregators over their algorithms related to ride cancellations and surge pricing and warned them to be vigilant about their customers. Ride-hailing platforms, including Uber and Ola, were given 30 days to fix their algorithms related to ride cancellations and surge pricing.

Since ride cancellation has been one of the major concerns of riders and to also make things simpler for drivers, Uber is now showing trip destinations to drivers before they accept the ride. "Drivers at the Uber advisory council meeting told us they would like more flexibility around payments. We are now showing drivers the mode of payment (cash or online) before the trip starts," the blog post noted.

In addition, the ride-hailing platform has also introduced a daily pay process for drivers. Uber said that with these changes, the company is also reinforcing its service quality expectations with drivers around areas like cancellations and AC rides.