Pouring woes: Stranded for hrs, cabbies refuse to take bookings

Bengaluru: Cab users in the city had a harrowing Friday as they struggled in vain to book vehicles through online apps. With roads flooded and trips getting longer, many cabs were stranded in different parts of the city, unable to accept bookings.
Saneet C, who couldn't book a cab through Ola or Uber said, "For over 10 minutes I tried to book a cab on both apps, but not a single vehicle was available.I was getting late for a meeting. Finally, I took an auto and paid Rs 120 for just 5km. While returning home, I got a seat in Uber Share but that also took a lot of time."
The auto ride from Koramangala to JP Nagar was a messy affair for Saneet as he had his clothes soiled in rainwater by the end of the trip.
Aditya G, another Bengalurean who tried to book a cab from Nagarbhavi, said, "Neither did I get a cab nor could I carpool. Every time a driver heard I had to go to MG Road, he'd ask me to cancel the trip."
Many cabbies told commuters they were forced to cancel trips because it'd take a lot of time to go through the waterlogged areas and they'd lose out on the number of trips and subsequent incentives. A couple of citizens complained about cab drivers taking single trips but later accepting other people's bookings, converting the rides into shared ones.
Sumit Roy, who missed his office cab at 5.30am, tried to book a cab through his smartphone but in vain. "Even at that hour, not a single cab was ready to go towards Bagmane Tech Park. They said the roads were flooded on Thursday night and that they were unable to take their car out. Some vehicles also broke down on the waterlogged roads. Finally, I had to go on my scooter but even that stopped midway; I had to push the two-wheeler through knee-deep water from Outer Ring Road for about 3km."