Hyderabad: Ignoring the directives of the authorities of Transport Department, cab service providers — Uber, Ola and others– have been collecting peak hour fares and still higher charges from the passengers.
They were taking advantage of the skeletal services being operated by the RTC in view of the strike by the RTC employees that has entered 11th day.
First, there is inadequate and curtailed frequency of bus service. Secondly, they are returning to depot by 7 pm daily. The night services have been cancelled. The situation is ripe for cabs and auto-rickshaws to have a field day in the exploitation of the general public.
In many cases the cab services have become unbearable and travel within the city has become burdensome. The auto-rickshaw drivers, who collect higher fare even on normal days, are looting the commuters.
The Transport Department initiated no measures against the erring cab and auto-rickshaw services. Of the 1.40 lakh three-wheelers plying on roads under GHMC limits, 85 per cent of them have no meters. The commuter has no option but to fulfil the demands of the auto drivers.
Similarly, cab services have been collecting huge fares. The fare being collected from Dilsukhnagar to Secunderabad is Rs 300-350 for the past 10 days as against the normal fare of Rs 225, commuters said.
As against the regular fare of Rs 120, some cab services are collecting Rs 220 from passengers for a journey between Lingampalli and Manikonda.
Shreya Veronica, a woman working for an IT company, alleged that she is facing problem to reach her office daily as the cab drivers are using the name of RTC strike and charging exorbitantly extra during the peak hours, “I was charged Rs. 650 by a cab driver from Santosh Nagar to Gachibowli,” she said frustratingly.