Mumbai rains: Cab rides become as costly as Goa flights
What's the story
The troubles of Mumbaikars do not seem to end anytime soon, with the incessant rains making life difficult (and utterly costly), of late. Due to extreme congestion on roads, and high demand, prices of intra-city travel via online cab booking services have clocked four-digit numbers. In fact, the cab rides have become almost as expensive as Mumbai-Goa airfare. Here's more on this.
Twitter Post
User tweets screenshot showing extremely expensive cab fares
Flying to Goa is as good as travelling by taxi in Mumbai. pic.twitter.com/hZp10iv3hU
— bikoo (@meandmarkets) July 1, 2019
Cause
What has caused the dramatic price rise?
The unending downpour in India's financial capital has led to such skyrocketing cab rates. The startling prices in the picture above are from a user's account who was trying to book an Uber ride from Andheri to Parel on July 2. This comes after cab aggregators surged travel prices between 1.6x and 2x in several parts of the city, owing to extreme traffic congestion.
Impact
The tremendous price-hike has further troubled Mumbai residents
With train facilities in Mumbai already adversely hit, the only reasonable way to commute was (apparently) via Ola/Uber. But users are finding it excruciatingly tough to manage such ridiculously high fares. Furthermore, many people have been complaining that the cab services stand completely suspended in certain parts of the city. Unfortunately, some people aren't left with any option but to walk to work.
Reaction
Mumbaikars puzzled between booking cabs and flying to Goa
While the eerie situation might seem "funny" for those witnessing it from afar, Mumbaikars obviously aren't pleased. While some users believed that cab-aggregators like Uber should "facilitate" the residents in such crisis, instead of looting them; some others felt that unaddressed water-logging due to the city's dilapidated infrastructure is to be blamed. Another user suggested Mumbaikars to take a break to Goa instead.
Situation
The incessant rains have wrecked life in Mumbai
On Tuesday, the Maximum City received its second highest July rainfall in 44 years, after the July 2005 deluge that killed over 1,000 people. In an unfortunate incident, the downpour led to a wall collapse in Malad East, resulting in 28 people getting killed. In another incident of dam breach in Ratnagiri, nine people have died, and at least 15 people are reportedly missing.