Delay in online cab booking at Pune Airport allege passengers, demand action by RTO and CCPA

Passengers arriving at Pune Airport from destinations across the country are complaining that online transport aggregators are manipulating them into booking costly rides despite affordable fares reflected in the apps used by them. According to passengers, the algorithm is manipulated in such a way that they are forced to book costlier Sedan rides when Mini car rides that are available for 50 to 40% less take much longer to book.

A case in point is that of international badminton player Raj Singh who complained to the minister of civil aviation that he could not book a mini version of transport on a popular online cab aggregator app despite waiting for half-an-hour even as he got immediate booking for the sedan version which is priced higher than the mini version. According to Singh, this points at the manipulation of software causing commuters to pay more and suffer more at the hands of aggregator platforms that are working solely for profit and inconveniencing commuters in the bargain. So much so that Singh has threatened to file a legal case against the platform in question with the regional transport office (RTO) for deliberately delaying rides and forcing commuters to opt for quick rides at higher fares.

Manjusha Ghodake, a resident of Hinjewadi, recalled a similar incident about a fortnight ago. “We arrived at around 11 pm from Delhi and I booked a car on a popular aggregator platform. However, it took me 45 minutes to get the vehicle of my choice. However, I have experienced that when I press for the premium version, I get an immediate booking as the price is high. So, an ordinary customer faces trouble due to such techniques and deliberate algorithm manipulation which is convenient for the companies to earn more money.”

According to advocate Milind Pawar, affected commuters should approach the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA). “The CCPA is a regulatory body in India established under the Consumer Protection Act 2019. Its primary role is to safeguard the rights of consumers by addressing issues related to unfair trade practices, misleading advertisements, and violation of consumer rights. The CCPA has the authority to take actions such as ordering the recall of unsafe goods or services, issuing refunds, imposing penalties on violators, and discontinuing deceptive advertisements. The key functions of the CCPA include protecting consumer rights: ensuring that consumers are not subject to unfair practices or misinformation; and initiate class action suits, conduct investigations into consumer complaints, and prosecute violations in cases involving aggregators,” advocate Pawar said.

The CCPA in the recent past has issued notices to aggregator platforms for resorting to unfair trade practices and violating consumer rights. The authority has issued notices related to deficiency in service, inadequate consumer grievance redressal mechanism, unreasonable levy of cancellation charge, and lack of any information on the algorithm. The CCPA has even directed aggrieved consumers to become convergence partners in the National Consumer Helpline, to enable better grievance redressal and also compliance with the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and e-Commerce Rules.