Are you also struggling to book an Ola or Uber cab in Delhi NCR? Here's why

Finding an Ola or Uber is a Herculean task on any regular day, but many people in Delhi and Delhi-NCR are now struggling even more to secure a cab. This has made life difficult for a lot of people, especially for those who were dependent on cabs for their daily commute. 

What

A lot of people living in Delhi and Delhi-NCR (including Noida and Gurugram) are complaining about various issues faced by cab aggregators like Ola and Uber. The problems include: 

• Increased time in accepting rides from cab drivers
• The surge in price for cab rides

Reacted on X

For this a lot of people took to X, voicing the issue and complaining it to the support care of Ola and Uber.  

Check them out:

READ MORE: Delhi air pollution must stop, don't care how: Supreme Court pulls up Delhi, Punjab, UP, Rajasthan

When my teammate from DailyO tweeted to Uber and Ola about the difficulty in finding cabs in Noida the Uber team replied, "We suggest checking your app about 15 minutes before you're ready to ride. The ETA for the pickup at your location will give you a sense of wait time and availability."

Here's the complete response: 

Till the time of writing this, there was no response from Ola. 

'It is because of the pollution'

Dharamveer Ravat, a cab driver and cab manager with over 15 years of experience in the business, explains to DailyO, "It is due to the high pollution and the ban on these BS4 and BS3 vehicles."

He elaborates that, due to the ban on these vehicles, many people in Delhi are turning to cab services like Ola and Uber for their commute. This increased demand has led to a spike in prices. He attributes the difficulty in finding cabs to this surge in demand.

Manish Chauhan*, an Uber driver, blames the police. He states, "Due to the strict enforcement of the ban on such vehicles, Delhi Police is more vigilant and are nabbing any cab drivers not complying with any of the laws. As a result, we drivers generally avoid going towards Delhi-NCR."

(Name changed as per the request of the driver)

The ban on BS4 and BS3 vehicles 

The Commission of Air Quality Management (CAQM) on Tuesday lifted Stage 3 restrictions under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP), effectively lifting the ban on construction activities and private BS3 and BS4 four-wheelers from plying in Delhi and NCR.

The ban was in place since November 2.

(BS3 and BS4 are Bharat Stage emission standards established by the Indian government to limit air pollutants from internal combustion engines. In simple terms, BS3 engines emit more carbon into the atmosphere than BS4 engines)

The ban was imposed in Delhi and nearby areas, looking at the severe pollution levels. Last week, a lot of areas in the National Capital saw pollution levels rising to "Severe" category. 

READ MORE: What all diseases can air pollution trigger? Experts weigh in