Pune: State transport minister Pratap Sarnaik on Thursday assured a probe as well as action against users and makers of onlymeter.in in Pune, even as commuters said the problem has persisted for a year now and nothing has happened despite complaints to the Regional Transport Office.Sarnaik said, “We will start an investigation and check whether onlymeter.in is official or not. If yes, we will need to understand how it was launched without any permission. If no, strict action will be initiated against cab drivers of Uber, Rapido and Ola charging fares via the said app.”The minister’s statement follows the incident of a scuffle between a passenger and a Rapido driver on Monday. The 42-year-old techie, who works in an IT firm in Phase I of Hinjewadi IT Park, had booked a Rapido cab to go home in Nana Peth around 3.40pm. The driver allegedly refused to accept the fare shown on the cab aggregator app and demanded payment by onlymeter.in. This led to an argument and the dispute escalated. The driver allegedly assaulted the victim and bit two fingers of his left hand. The police complaint said one of the techie’s fingers was partially severed and he was admitted to a hospital.Meanwhile, commuters said they weren’t convinced with the minister’s assurance. Many said that harassment by cabbies had been going on since a year and nothing had happened despite Pune RTO repeatedly saying it would act. “What is the guarantee that this time action will be initiated against the cabbies, the aggregators and the organisation which initiated onlymeter.in,” said Nitin Ade, a working professional and resident of Shivajinagar.Ankur Anil, who lives in Hinjewadi and is a frequent flyer, told TOI that demanding to go via onlymeter.in fare had become the norm. “This happens every time I am at the airport to catch a flight or when I arrive, especially late evening or at night. Once a booking is done, drivers call or message saying ‘meter fare dena padega’. If one disagrees, they insist we cancel the ride. Once I had to cancel four rides consecutively. Are the authorities listening?” said the senior IT professional.Rohit Jadhav, an NRI living in Germany, was in a dire situation in Sept, last year. “It was terrible. The cabbie had demanded fare by onlymeter.in — much higher than what showed on the cab aggregator app. I refused and he called a friend. The situation got threatening. Somehow, I managed a way out. How can the authorities not look into such cases and act?” said Jadhav, whose family lives in Wagholi.TOI called Pune RTO Archana Gaikwad and deputy RTO Swapnil Bhosle, but their response was awaited till the time of going to press.“Floating a WhatsApp number and urging people to complain is not enough. Strict action on the ground, without fearing a strike or agitation, is necessary,” a commuter said.
