Drivers of Uber and Ola walk next to their parked vehicle's during a protest in New Delhi, India, February 14, 2017. REUTERSDoes Ola algorithm also follow a similar pattern of levying surcharges in names of taxes, even when the state does not levy? Ola sent us a standard answer in response to a questionnaire. "All rides at the Ola platform comply with the tax structures specified by the respective state governments. The invoice shared with the customer, once the ride is concluded, gives a detailed break-up of the charges levied," Ola spokesperson said in a statement to Moneycontrol. Companies evade questions on UP bound passengers…There is another catch in the levying of taxes on passengers. A cab driver is levied the Rs 120 just once in 24 hours if his cab is registered outside UP. This fare is collected from the passenger in the form of Rs 100 ‘surcharge’ when they travel to Noida or Ghaziabad.However if a driver gets more than one trip to UP, Uber still levies a surcharge of Rs 100 on the second, third or fourth passenger, even when the state government is not collecting any further taxes in a 24 hour period on a non-state cab.“The Municipal Corporation of Delhi charges toll every time a vehicle enters Delhi and Uber includes this toll in upfront fare, as soon as a rider enters pick-up and drop-off locations that necessitate crossing state borders to enter Delhi,” an Uber spokesperson said without commenting on the case of Uttar Pradesh. We asked Uber why does the fare not go down once a home state numbered cab is allotted to a customer sitting in Delhi. The company said that the tax collected by Haryana when vehicles enter the state is not included in the fare Uber charges from its riders.Experts say that the ideal way should be that the drivers take monthly permits and then the companies can divide the tax among all the customers.
"The second thing could be that -- if you are doing a first trip you can deduct a charge from the customer but if you making a second or a third trip and if it is not incurred by you, then you should not charge the customer," added Jaspal Singh, an auto industry analyst and co-founder of Valoriser Consultants.
Uber and Ola evaded the question on home state cabs plying towards Uttar Pradesh from Delhi or Gurgaon.
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