Passengers arriving at T2 air terminal at Sahar are having a tough time getting Ola cabs or even autorickshaws. I arrived late night at T2 on Thursday via a delayed Indigo flight from Srinagar and had a harrowing time getting a vehicle.
As I was walking towards the Ola counter, a man accosted me and asked where I wanted to go. He said he represented Ola and he can take me to my destination Chembur for Rs 700 plus Rs 300 towards "parking charge."
I declined and went to the Ola counter to book a cab to Chembur. The man at the counter took my details and booked a cab on his mobile. Soon I received an SMS message saying "Amit Kumar Bhurtiya (8108536030) is on the way" and the booking number was CRN9452556986in a white Dzire car MH03 DV 6236. Even after waiting for 15 minutes there was no sign of the driver.
When I called the driver, he asked where I wanted to go. When I replied "Chembur" he disconnected. When I went to the Ola "help" desk the man there nonchalantly informed me that the driver has cancelled the ride! Several other irate passengers had a similar experience with other drivers. One of them was heard shouting "I am a frequent flyer. But I find the problem of cabs only in Mumbai." Soon enough two touts came offering to help out for a small fee.
The situation at the autorickshaw queue was no better. Drivers coming in the line ask passengers for their destination and if they are not interested ask them to get down. There is not a single policeman at the spot. An employee of Krystal services is supervising the queue, but he is helpless to prevent the autorickawallas from refusing fare. There is a separate line for auto rickshaws where the drivers negotiate the fare and take passengers.