Ride-sharing scams rise during Tihar

Kathmandu, November 3 — Sujan Acharya, originally from Gorkha, searched for a ride via Indrive while coming from Thamel to Nepaltar on Sunday afternoon. He waited at Thamel Chowk for about half an hour, but no riders accepted his request.

After about half an hour, a rider did accept, but he started negotiating by saying he would go offline because of Tihar. Since Acharya needed to go to his sister’s house for the Tika ceremony, he paid 400 rupees to get to Balaju, while the usual fare is around 150 rupees. It has been found that during Tihar, riders are exploiting the situation by charging arbitrary amounts.

This is just one example. Many customers have reported feeling cheated through ride-sharing apps on the day of Bhaitika during Tihar. Complaints have arisen not just with Indrive, but also with ride-sharing apps like Pathao and Tootle, where customers ordering online for convenience have been scammed in the name of Tihar.

One customer, Deepak Lamichhane, mentioned that on Sunday afternoon, when he wanted to go from Nepaltar to Basundhara, the taxi driver insisted on going offline only. He complained that he had to spend 1,000 rupees to travel between Nepaltar and Basundhara because he had no other option.

Recently, ride-sharing has become a convenient way for passengers to travel from one place to another. However, during Tihar, when transportation is limited, riders have been scamming passengers under various pretexts, while the relevant authorities remain silent. In such situations, riders not only refuse to accept rides online but also negotiate in various ways to cheat passengers.

Regarding this, Pathao Nepal responded that no scams occur through their system. A staff member contacted by Ratopati said, "If anyone has committed fraud or charged more than the specified amount, we follow up immediately. We have not recorded any such complaints today. If they come in, we will follow up."