Many office-goers who have to physically report for work amid Covid curbs are looking for cars on hire that will ferry them back and forth.
These cars, many of which were app-cabs and are sitting idle in the absence of enough passengers, don’t come cheap.
Offices were allowed to reopen from June 16 with 25 per cent attendance.
An executive who has to travel to Garia from Charu Market in Tollygunge has contracted a car owner for a two-way ride that will cost around Rs 700 daily. The arrangement is for a drop in the morning and journey back home in the evening.
An official of a private company has struck a deal for Rs 1,500 daily with a car owner to ferry him from Dhakuria to his office in Salt Lake’s Karunamoyee and back home. The deal is from 9am to 5pm and the driver can’t make trips in between.
Some office-goers are trying to offset the steep rates by making small detours to pick up and drop a colleague and share the fare with him or her.
Most of the users have set a condition that the cars will not make any trip in between, while some have allowed the drivers to make small trips during the office period in return for a reduction in the fare.
Car owners are happy with the arrangements because only a handful of passengers are booking cabs through ride-hailing apps and the current arrangement at least guarantees them some income.
“There have been occasions when I have bagged a trip of Rs 150 around 12.30pm after having logged in at 10am,” said Tuntun Shaw, an app-cab driver.
“Throughout the day I may end up bagging only three or four trips.”
Also, this hiring arrangement ensures that the car owner doesn’t have to travel long distances waiting for a passenger.
“I am saving on fuel, which I could not have done as an app-cab driver. If I log in, I usually spend at least Rs 35 on every 5km-trip in search of passengers. It doesn’t make sense,” said Dilip Mondal, another app-cab operator.
When the cars are not booked for an entire day, it offers the owners a chance of making other trips, a flexibility that the car owners like and those hiring them don’t mind.
“It is still better than having a new driver every day or having to wait after booking a cab and then discover that the driver has cancelled the trip,” said Debolina Dutta, an executive of a private company.
“A fixed driver means you are certain of reaching the office on time and returning home without any hassle, including a surge in fares.”
Some office-goers who have opted for a day’s contract have found co-passengers to split fares with.
“I have come across a man who lives in Beleghata and whose office is in Dalhousie. Two of us travel together and we split the daily fare of Rs 1,400,” said Abhirup Samaddar, a Kankurgachi resident with his office on Kiran Shankar Roy Road.
“We have made it clear to the driver that he cannot make any trip in between. The car will be exclusively ours during office hours. We don’t want to take chances during the pandemic.”
As bus and train services are suspended, many office-goers from suburbs, too, are hiring cars for their daily commute.
“Car owners started receiving calls for contracts on June 16 (the day offices were allowed to reopen),” said Indranil Banerjee, the secretary of the West Bengal Online Cab Operators Guild.