Ola driving into another scam

Ola drivers have been manipulating fares on Ola and 3 have already been busted.

Ola's 36 cab drivers are being investigated against with 3 of them already behind bars. These cab drivers have been illegally manipulating the app and charging the riders hiked fares. These drivers have accumulated more than Rs. 31.4 Lakh by increasing the general Ola fare by 17%. This however, may not always be the case. The inspecting officer Jayesh Thakur is investigating all cases when there has been a massive difference between the Ola estimated fare and actual paid fare.

Therefore, the 17% increased fare rate is estimated to 20% of the times be due to the rider extending the ride after booking it. This manipulation is possible due to a loophole in the older version of the app. When a driver would be crossing from under a bridge or flyover, a cab driver on the older app would switch the app on and off, this would result in the app showing that the cab is on top of the bridge, or vice versa.

This location change will allow the app to relocate the app and increase the distance travelled, increasing the fare.

This is the second big blow that Ola has taken. One covered in a previous post, and this one costing them more than Rs. 31 Lakh. It is however, not the financial loss which is concerning, it is the trust and marketability factor which seems to be problematic. Ola as a firm is well set in the Indian soil, however, it is not moving in the right direction.

The one key factor for using the shared economy is trust. Ola is slowly losing its consumer's trust. It is facing these massive problems which are becoming headline news regulalry. Not just deteriorating the market's image but also the chances of the company bouncing back from these problems.

Sooner or later another problem can arise in front of the company which is currently riving from the location/sim card fraud. This is not good news for the PR, but this is another warning for them to tighten things up back at the office. They have been beaten twice by technology, which is problematic for a company which purely runs on it.

There obviously is bad publicity in the play and the can-do persona of the consumer groups, however, this is not something that a company can slide under the carpet. These are major issues that need to be controlled and limited from at least a tech-standpoint if not the ground work.