App-cab AC plaints dip 60% after corrective steps: Firms

Kolkata: Two of the city’s biggest app-cab companies have claimed there has been a 60% decrease in complaints from passengers over drivers’ refusal to switch on ACs following corrective measures taken by the firms. But, riders say that while the situation has changed during the surge period, when fares shoot up, there are many drivers who are still reluctant to switch on the AC.
“The number one complaint from Kolkata has reduced significantly.We have spoken to the five driver representatives who went to Delhi from Kolkata recently to attend a meeting on drivers,” said a spokesperson from Uber, claiming it was reinforcing service quality expectations with drivers in areas like cancellations and AC rides.
In addition to notifications and training, the company has warned drivers that lack of adherence to these service quality essentials could lead to penalties and restriction of access to the booking platform.
An Ola spokesperson said the firm has been impressing upon drivers to switch on the AC as soon as the rider steps into the vehicle and switch it off only if the customer so requests. Any negative feedback from passengers lead to downgrading the driver partner’s rating on the platform. Ola also clarified its fares are based on distance and journey time, and not on AC usage.
Commuters say the situation has improved slightly and there is still a long way to go before drivers begin to treat AC as a hygiene factor.
“A section of drivers are indeed switching on ACs. But I have observed that this is normally the practice during surge periods when the aggregator is charging anywhere between Rs 25-Rs 28 per kilometre. The moment it drops to Rs 22-Rs 23 per km, they refuse to switch on the AC to save on fuel,” said Tathagatha Mukherjee, who regularly uses app cabs while travelling with his year-old son.
College professor Sutapa Dey said the decision of switching on AC was an “individual driver” decision rather than driven by sound economic logic. “When I travelled to Rajarhat Ecospace from Behala, the driver refused to switch on the AC when the fare was showing Rs 823. However, on the return journey to Esplanade, where the fare was Rs 412, the driver switched on the AC,” she said.
“The heat wave earlier saw all drivers switching on ACs. But they are back to their old ways now. I wonder how they had sustained themselves when they switched on ACs if their claims on profits and fares are to be believed,” said Nabarun Roy, a doctor.
Saikat Majumdar, an IT professional from Salt Lake, said, “I used an app cab four times since Friday. On at least two occasions, the drivers switched on the AC themselves. A third did not while the fourth had to be prodded.”