Ola and Uber roll back surge after a threat by Delhi’s Chief Minister of ‘strict action’

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

A threat of a possible action against Uber and Ola by no less than Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal led the ride-hailing apps to suspend surge pricing in India’s capital today, as users complained of sky high rates.

Labor unions threatened a strike against apps, complaining that they charge unregulated fares.

I tried to book an Uber last night. It’s the first time ever since Uber’s launch in India in 2013 that I saw a fivefold surge.

A former colleague tweeted about thrice the normal fare charged to him by Ola Cabs. The ride hailing app has made a killing since the start of the Odd-Even formula on April 15.

My terrible #odd-even experience. @Olacabs charged me thrice the fare. Paid Rs 1356 to CP. @ArvindKejriwal many tks pic.twitter.com/zyWX7qeAb6

— Binoy Prabhakar (@binawy) April 18, 2016

Today being Monday, the apps saw the most peak during office hours and at locations where taxis are needed the most.

It’s second innings of Delhi’s experimentation with its odd even formula.

According to the formula, you’re allowed to take out your car only on alternate days. Cars with even-numbered plates are allowed on the roads on even-numbered days and odd-numbered plates on odd-numbered days.

The national capital region of Delhi boasts a population of 8.4 million cars, much larger than the population of many countries.

It has led to heavy pollution and traffic, thus calling for experiments such as Odd-Even.

Uber and Ola suspend surge in Delhi

“Ola has temporarily pulled out ‘peak pricing’ in Delhi NCR. We have also rolled out an on-ground campaign where volunteers are spreading the message of ride-sharing and car-pooling in support of the scheme,” said Deep Singh, Business Head at Ola.

Delhi Chief Minister threatens Uber and Ola

Will the surge rollback work?

Uber rolls back but justifies surge