Can Dara Fix Uber's Rickety Ride In India?

The CEO of Uber has big plans for India. But competition and tighter regulations may spoil the pitch

- Sumant Banerji

On Wednesday, Dara Khosrowshahi, 54, will touch down in Bengaluru for his third visit to India since taking over as the head of Uber in 2017. It isn’t the most auspicious of times for the company, which is battling many challenges in India. The most recent, if relatively minor one, is a tiff with cab drivers in Pune, who have been demanding that the company—and its rivals—charge the higher fares set by the local regional transport authority in January this year. The irate drivers had threatened to go on an indefinite strike if fares are not hiked.

After the Pune Regional Transport Office (RTO) issued a show cause notice to Uber as well as Ola, the two major cab-hailing firms in India, the drivers called off their strike, which was scheduled to begin on Tuesday. The RTO has asked the companies to explain why the revised fares have not been implemented and given them a week’s time to respond, failing which it said action would be taken. This is just one example of the run-ins Uber keeps having with regulators as well as driver partners.

If it isn't low prices, Uber India is accused of charging too much. A few weeks back, the government of Karnataka banned surge pricing - a tool commonly used by ride-hailing companies to boost revenue, in Bengaluru, one of the company's biggest markets in India. In a notification issued on 3 February, the state government introduced a new uniform fare for all cabs in the metropolis, effectively banning any kind of differential pricing.