When I said this to my friend, he asked me, "You are in Chennai for so many years and you are taking a taxi for first time?". I politely replied "Necessity.." .
I'm not a big fan of taxi apps, because I haven't tried one for myself before, but I had to get one last week as I was with an elder and I didn't want to take a chance of making a long drive in the bike.
I did a small math to compare the taxi and auto fare (As per the 2013 govt rates in Chennai).
Taxi ride-
Total kms - 18.9
Taxi charges - Rs. 316 (Including Rs. 50 as peak hour charge)
Travel time - 63 mins
I was little skeptic, that I was paying more, because the meter was a mobile meter and all through the travel I couldn’t see the distance and the fare. But I was surprised, when I calculated the auto fare for the above distance.
Calculated auto fare-
For first 1.8 kms - Rs. 25
For each additional km - Rs. 12
Total fare - Rs. 230
Things to consider- it's an AC ride, safe and secure. Not many autos accept to put meter, if they do, there is always the staple dialogue "Meter mella potu kudunga" or there is a negotiation part. For the above distance, any auto would have started with Rs. 500 and after negotiation we would have settled to Rs. 400!
The other takeaway from this experience is- I feel the government auto rates are costly, while comparing to the value of service we get in a taxi app service.
I'm not vouching for taxis on top of autos. Bus + Auto are still the best and cost effective way to commute in Chennai after walking. But for long and planned travel, take a taxi.
It depends on how deep of your wallet (Masathil mothal nall).
