KOLKATA: Both the online aggregators — Uber and Ola — on Thursday came on record to ‘self-regulate’ surge at maximum of 45% (.45 times) of the government notified prices for AC metered taxi in Kolkata at any given time. This is, significantly, way below their earlier proposal of limiting self-regulated surge to 2.9 times. Base fare has always been a contentious issue with both the aggregators. According to the state formula, the aggregators can now charge maximum of Rs 27.20 per km (limiting surge to 45% only), taking Rs 18.75 per km (the base fare of AC metered cab) as the base fare of app cabs.“We strongly believe that our submissions are in line with the best interests of all stakeholders, including the riders, drivers and the city,”said a Uber spokesperson. “This ensures fair earnings for driver-partners while keeping rides affordable for customers through multiple categories and offers. We have been and will continue to abide by the directions of the transport department. We will continue to strengthen the Ola platform and maintain a fair-price policy for the entire ecosystem,” said an Ola spokesperson Dynamic pricing kicks in only in times when there is a mismatch in demand and supply. In order to continue to provide reliable transportation options to Kolkata and help ride-sharing companies reduce the recurrence of dynamic pricing, both the aggregators have urged the government to open up and expedite new permits for cars apart from the Gatidhara scheme.The move has been hailed both by the commuters and operators. Fed up with surge fare which sometimes exceeds 6x fare, the commuters said that it’s high time both the aggregators come clear on their pricing policy.Madhurima Mukherjee, a research scholar, said, “What the government did yesterday should have been done a long ago. I was robbed of Rs 770 only a week ago when I booked a cab from my Jadavpur home to my parents’ house at Howrah . Usually, fare does not exceed Rs190. It was an emergency so I had no other option. But I felt cheated.”Transport economist Anirban Basu said both Uber and Ola used a rather sophisticated algorithm to figure out how high to raise its surge prices. “But the algorithm is a closely-guarded secret and much too complicated to explain to users anyway. This creates the sense that the surge multiplier calculation is hardly demandbased. But this move is a welcome change,” he added.

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