Delhi Radio Taxi Scam

I had heard great things about Radio Taxi (Call a Cab) service in Delhi which is being provided by Meru Cabs, Mega Cabs, Easy cabs and NCR Taxi.

Now they have removed the prepaid counter for Meru cabs from Terminal 3 and as you come out you see the air-conditioned cars waiting in queue. A guys makes note of your name and phone number and tells you the number of the taxi you can board. The driver is enthusiastic and he loads the luggage in the car.  All this happened very smoothly, and the car started moving. Even in the past I had used the service (although from the prepaid counter) and it was hassle-free. So, expecting the same thing, I was peacefully chatting with my wife about Delhi weather, beauty and the flyovers.

While we were on flyover next to Varuna, Naval Officers Mess, the driver took a turn for RK Puram instead of Dhaula Kuan which surprised me. Upon being asked, he reasoned the heavy-traffic on Dhaula Kuan while hardly a few cars were plying on the road. Imagine, traffic at Dhaula Kuan at 04:30 in the morning. Now, I was sure he's fooling me. I warned him not to play around and he probably understood. When I probed why he was not using GPS, he said it's not yet operational. He stopped for gas and then drove us to Ginger, New Delhi Railway Station through RK Puram, Moti Bagh and Chanakyapuri. Guess what? The meter has clicked 30 kilometers, which ideally should not have been more than 22 kilometers.

I insisted that he must not charge for extra 10 kilo meters. By then I had already clicked a couple of photos of   the car and number plate, which probably was good enough for him to take me seriously. Surprisingly, he agreed. I paid him 600 rupees including the night charges which is 25 per cent extra, while the actual bill was 828.00 rupees which included 30 kilometer of ride at night and 80 rupees airport parking fee.

While talking about this to one of my friends who lives and works in Delhi, I came to know this is quite common among the radio taxi drivers.

So, to be sure that you're not ripped off, you must tell the route you want him to follow before starting the journey.