A couple of weeks ago Ravi and I travelled by cab to take delivery of a new Renault Duster for vocation promotion at their showroom in Kukatpally. During the drive, Ravi out of respect for me, sat with the driver and let me sit alone at the back!! I took the opportunity, as I always do when I do not have the steering wheel in my hand, to catch a wink.
Nonetheless, I could catch bits and pieces of conversation Ravi was having with the driver, a muslim guy. The driver was quite refined and polite and knowledgeable as well. At one point, I could hear Ravi confirming with great conviction what the driver was expressing. The driver was sharing about his woes of running a taxi in the Uber-Rapido era!
When the competition increases, the prices naturally dip. In the price war between service providers, the customer is the beneficiary. With taxi operating giants like Uber, Rapido and Ola each claiming a share of the travellers, the price war is inevitable. The taxi driver was most unhappy about the Rapido bike taxi. The introduction of the bike taxi, that too permitting private individuals to use their personal bikes, has been a big blow to the taxis. The taxi has to pay a higher road tax, insurance and annual payments, while the private individual pays lessor, yet gains a higher margin when it comes to earnings. This, he felt, is not fair.
Ravi, on the other hand, ended the ride, feeling consoled that he isn't in the taxi business, like a couple of his friends, who ditched their salary-based 9-to-5 job!
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