Cab drivers ask for 5-star rating

Cab operators in the city have latched on to the spirit of Deepavali and are going the extra mile to ensure their drivers are kept in good stead this festive season. As a bonus of sorts, many operators have come out with incentive schemes, not just to keep their employees happy, but to also ensure that a majority of their taxis are kept on roads during the festive days so that bookings are directed to their respective apps. From free gift hampers of firecrackers to monetary incentives and more, the mantra of the season seems to be pay it forward.

Talking about the incentive scheme offered to him, R Kannan, a taxi driver who has attached his cab to both Ola and Meru says, “Ola had offered a scheme to drivers whereby at the completion of a certain number of pick-ups (for example, 65 trips) within the week leading to Deepavali, entitled a driver to a firecracker gift voucher worth Rs 3,000.” Other taxi operators have also taken the hint and are in a race of sorts for getting the maximum number of bookings during festive season, a time when people usually tend to face a shortage of cabs.

M Ranjith, a driver who has attached his sedan to Taxi for Sure says, “During the Deepavali week, we have been offered an incentive of Rs 600 for every five pick-ups. Also, there’s an extra Rs 40 that drivers can earn on every pickup in the city.” 

So do such reward schemes translate into better services for the customer? Varun Jain, a city based pharmaceutical entrepreneur says, “I take a taxi almost every day when I have to make a quick stopover at my clients’ offices. No matter how badly the cars are maintained and how rashly they are driven, the driver always asks me to give him a 5-star rating. The number of these requests have gone up during Deepavali season.”

The ratings are an essential component of the rewards schemes during the festive week. But it comes with a catch. Palaniappan G, who runs an independent taxi service says, “To become eligible for the big bonus of Rs 3,100, a driver has to be logged in for 12 hours in a day and has to have a minimum of 9 confirmed bookings (out of which 5 bookings should be in the peak hours). Apart from this, he also needs to get a 4-star or higher rating from his passenger. Only then does he qualify for the big incentive.” He adds, “It’s a practically impossible condition. Few drivers can achieve such unrealistic targets.”