Tuesday Titbits

Few news items which caught my attention on this first Tuesday of Sept 2018.

1. Generally during monsoon season there is a tendency of petrol and diesel consumption to drop. But as per statistics this year drop in fuel consumption during months of  June and July is less compared to drop in last year. ( The drop of consumption is considered against the  fuel consumption in the months of April & May of the same year). As per  figures disclosed by Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), this year decrease in the consumption for petrol was 7.4% and for diesel it was 10.2%  from the summer months of Apr & May 2018, but during the same period in 2017, the decrease  was  8.6% for petrol and 11.9%  for diesel. Similarly in the case of Bharat Petroleum (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum this drop in consumption was 4.9% and 5.2 % for petrol and 7.6% and 8.6 % for diesel , in both the cases first figure is for 2018 and the second figure is for 2017.This statistics only means two things- either the number of new vehicles added are more this year or  fuel consumption has increased because of condition of roads, which are turning from bad to worse every year. In my opinion both the factors have added for increase in consumption of petrol and diesel during Jun & July 2018. With the fuel prices increasing on daily basis with no sign of prices falling down, I do not know whether in subsequent months of this year the fuel consumption will increase to the present level or increase in consumption will slow down due to the trend of price increase, only time will tell whether more people will start using public conveyance/services for commuting, instead of using their cars.
2. While speaking on public conveyance, it seems the business of private cab operators have slacked down as both Uber and Ola have started giving discounts to users and are offering more incentives to cab operators. Uber has slashed their non surge fares by at least 10%. A company spoke person said that the fare cut was part of initiative to encourage more citizens to opt for AC rides at affordable fares. Both Ola  and Uber are offering more incentives to drivers be on the road  24/7. Drivers get the incentive over Rs 2000 if they complete stipulated numbers of trips within 48 hours. Many regular customers are being upgraded to bigger cabs as a bonus during rides with economic fares. Ola has also started giving discounts of Rs 50 on five subsequent rides each to select customers who take two rides in a week.Ola has also started Auto Rickshaw services in Mumbai Metropolitan region, and this Auto services is also gaining popularity, ans as per latest information released by company they have about 30,000 Autos on their platform. Recently Uber has also announced thst they are also adding Autos in their platform. Autos are slowly becoming popular, as often on the roads Auto drivers are in the habit of refusing fares, by booking App based auto, you are bound to pay little more, but there are generally no waiting charges on the road, if you are struck in traffic jam or in inching traffic, whereas in normal auto , your fare increases with the waiting charges.Secondly most of the autos are reluctant to cross toll nakas and this is when Ola autos assure you of uninterrupted rides from Mumbai to Thane  & Navi Mumbai. In Mumbai more and more people have started using App based  cabs and  autos, as there is one big hidden advantage, which is point to point fares are known in advance, when you book the ride and unless you change the route of travel, then only the fare will slightly differ because their fares are generally decided on the shortest road routes as shown in their GPRS system.

Friends waiting for your feed backs/comments/views on this blog.

Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

4th Sep, 2018.