Uber hikes Delhi-NCR fares by 12% over rise in fuel prices

The fare hike in Delhi-NCR came barely 10 days after the ride hailing company increased cab fares by 15% in Mumbai citing the same reasons.

Ride hailing service Uber on Monday hiked fares by 12% in Delhi-NCR, citing rising fuel prices and protests by driver partners.

Taxi drivers protest against the hike in fuel prices at Jantar Mantar on Friday. (ANI)

“We listen to feedback from drivers and understand that the current rise in fuel prices is causing concern. To help cushion drivers from the impact of the spike in fuel prices, Uber has raised trip fares in Delhi-NCR by 12%. Over the coming weeks, we will continue to track fuel price movements and will take further steps as needed,” Nitish Bhushan, head of central operations, Uber India and South Asia said in a statement on Monday.

The fare hike in Delhi-NCR came barely 10 days after the ride hailing company increased cab fares by 15% in Mumbai citing the same reasons.

On April 8, cab drivers protested at Central Delhi’s Jantar Mantar demanding reduction in CNG, petrol and diesel prices, which have gone up consistently. The drivers also threatened to go on an indefinite strike if their demands were not met.

The protest was supported by several unions, including Delhi Taxi, Tourist Transporters and Tour Operators Association, Sarvodaya Driver Association of Delhi, Expert Driver Solution, Sarvodaya Driver Welfare Association and drivers associated with Ola and Uber.

Petrol and diesel prices were last hiked by 80 paise a litre each on April 6,taking the total increase in rates in 16 days to ₹10 per litre. Petrol in Delhi now costs ₹105.41 per litre while diesel costs ₹96.67 per litre, according to a price notification of state fuel retailers.

CNG in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi now costs ₹69.11 per kg. CNG prices in Delhi have increased by ₹12.48 per kg since March when city gas distributors started factoring in high international energy prices.

On April 6, community platform LocalCircles, released its survey findings stating that a whopping 79% of survey participants who responded to a question on ride cancellations said drivers are cancelling rides due to an unfavourable destination or non-cash mode of payment.

In a statement, the platform said it received 65,000 responses from app-based cab users residing in 324 districts of India. 47% of these users said the top issue they faced was driver cancellations, followed by surge pricing (32%), long waiting times (9%), safety issues (5%) and non-compliance with Covid protocol (3%).

Anil Kumar, who lives in east Delhi’s Surajmal Vihar, and commutes to his office in Connaught Place daily said with overall price rise, the hike in fares will add more burden on the pocket of the common man. “Usually, an Uber ride between my house and office costed Rs180-Rs200. Now, I have to pay 12% more. Additionally, almost all day riders have to pay surge fares,” he said.