Ola at Chennai Airport

Only Ola cabs at Chennai airport

STAFF REPORTER

CHENNAI, AUGUST 15, 2018 00:00 IST

Operator will share revenue with AAI

Passengers will no longer be able to take Uber cabs from Chennai airport as the cab aggregator has lost its bid to Ola.

According to officials of Airports Authority of India (AAI), Ola cabs will be available in the airport as they have been awarded the contract for putting up kiosks outside the terminals.

In August last year, both Ola and Uber were given space to install the kiosks outside the terminals, in addition to the existing Fast Track, Aviation Express and pre-paid taxis.

Officials of the Airports Authority of India (AAI) said Ola and Uber were operating on a trial basis all these months. When AAI found that several people were using the services, it called for tenders to provide the service permanently.

“Ola won the bid and they will share a portion of their revenue with AAI. This apart, they will also pay some rent to AAI,” an official said. They refused to comment on the quantum of rent and the profit-sharing details.

The presence of these cab aggregators immensely benefited passengers. But more importantly, to meet the competition from them, prepaid taxis brought down their prices by Rs. 50 and Fast Track too had reduced their prices by 20%

Passengers feel this move may lead to inordinate delays in securing a cab during peak hours. Vasumathi Raghu, a passenger from Adyar said, “During peak hours, if Ola charges exorbitantly, I can use Uber and vice versa. And if Uber doesn’t have cabs I could take Ola. Having more options is always good for a passenger.” Uber, however, will continue to take riders to the airport.