App cab aggregator Uber on Thursday clarified that its drivers cannot charge an additional parking fee from passengers they pick up from the Kolkata airport.
“Uber has introduced cashless operations at the NSCBI Airport (Kolkata airport) in collaboration with Omega Enterprises (the agency that manages parking at the airport). Cashless operations eliminate parking and pickup charges for Uber drivers, streamlining the overall experience, and resulting in reduced estimated arrival times (ETAs) for riders ensuring smooth airport transfers,” Uber said in a statement on Thursday.
The Telegraph saw on Thursday afternoon that Uber drivers were not charging additional parking fees from passengers.
The airport authorities had allocated seven pick-up points each for Uber and Ola on February 17. Airport officials said both aggregators agreed during their talks with Omega Enterprises to keep their cars parked in the parking lot after dropping off passengers in the departure area.
Once the slots at pick-up point get vacant, the cars move there. According to an airport official, more than 700 cars registered on the Uber platform remain parked in a day on average. The aggregators are paying Rs 65 per trip to Omega as part of the contract, said the official.
Several passengers said the waiting time for app cabs has gone down considerably, following the allocation of pick-up points to Uber and Ola, and airport pick-ups have become smoother and faster than they were a few weeks ago.
This newspaper reported on February 19 that Ola and Uber were charging Rs 100 and Rs 65, respectively, over the fare for picking up passengers from the airport. The drivers were charging the additional amounts as they were having to park their vehicles at the designated pick-up points in front of the airport terminal.
On Thursday, fliers who booked Uber cabs in front of the airport terminal did not have to pay the additional Rs 65.
This newspaper found an Uber booking counter between taxi bays 3 and 4 on Thursday. Multiple representatives from Uber were helping passengers book cabs and also telling them that they need not pay anything other than the fare for the pick-up.
Soumen Mondal, an Uber representative at the counter, said they had been asked to help passengers with their bookings and to ensure that drivers did not collect “any extra cash from the passengers as parking fees”.
The representatives were also asked by the aggregator to ensure that the cabs reached the pick-up point in time.
Minal Choudhury, a resident of Golf Green, who landed at the airport from Delhi, said that when she went to the pick-up point after booking an Uber cab, a representative of the aggregator told her not to pay anything extra to the driver as parking fee.
Mohammed Ali, who drives an Uber cab and was waiting at the bay, said they, too, had received instructions not to collect any parking fee from the passengers.
“We have been told that Uber has entered into an agreement and they told us not to collect anything extra,” said Ali.
This newspaper took an Uber ride from the airport to City Centre II in New Town on Thursday afternoon. As soon as the destination was entered into the app, a message popped up: “Parking Included! No need to pay for airport parking separately. It’s included in your fare. Ride hassle-free.”
The total fare for the ride was Rs 356.
The Telegraph carried a series of reports in January, highlighting the problems faced by passengers at the Kolkataa airport. Cab chaos was one of them.