Uber India Hikes Ride Fares Amid Rising Fuel Costs, Drivers Can Now See Destination Beforehand

With these changes, the company said that they are also reinforcing their service quality expectations with drivers especially in areas like cancellations and ensuring AC rides.

(Representative Image/ Getty)

New Delhi: Hyperlocal cab-aggregator Uber India has decided to hike fares in several cities of the country in order to enhance driver earnings amid the ongoing sugre in fuel prices. The decision comes after driver members on the council had raised the issue of dip in daily income of drivers amid the increasing petrol and diesel costs. According to reports, the cab-hailing app has increased its pricing by 15 to 20 per cent in multiple cities.

"The hike in fuel prices has impacted everyone, especially ridesharing drivers who have felt the pinch of rising fuel costs," Uber India Director of Central Operations Nitish Bhushan said on Thursday.

"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," he said in a blog post.

Additionally, the company has also announced a series of measures for Uber drives to continue to operate on the technology platform. These measures are trip destinations being vissble to drivers before they decide to accept the ride, flexibility on payments.

The tech major said that the decisons were take to remove frustration for riders and drivers alike.

"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 company said.

Uber has now made the cash or online decision irrelevant by introducing a daily pay process for drivers. With these changes, the company said that they are also reinforcing their service quality expectations with drivers especially in areas like cancellations and ensuring AC rides.

The company, however, did not clarify on the issue of ride cancellations by drivers and surge pricing that has affected the riders in the country.

The developments come a week after Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) last week warned ride-hailing platforms like Uber and Ola to fix rising consumer complaints regarding ride cancellations, cancellation charges, random surge pricing, and long waiting times, or else face penal action.

(With inputs from IANS.)