Gurgaon: Tuesday afternoon’s showers didn’t just make returning home from work tough, it also made it very expensive.As app-based cab fares soared, a trip from Udyog Vihar Phase IV to Sector 90, which usually costs around Rs 600, was quoted at Rs 1,054 on Rapido for an economy cab and Rs 1,356 on Uber Go AC around 3.55 pm, a surge of 76% to 126%. Premium categories crossed Rs 1,400, while even auto fares rose above Rs 700.“I travel from Udyog Vihar to Sector 90 almost every day. The fare is usually around Rs 600, but after a light shower it crossed Rs 1,300 today. At these prices, commuting becomes unaffordable,” said Neeta Gupta, a commuter.Aakriti Gupta, who commutes daily between Cyber City and Palam, said she prefers bike taxi because it was the cheapest way to avoid traffic. “It usually costs me anywhere between Rs 150 and Rs 165. But on Tuesday evening, even bike fares shot up to nearly Rs 280. At that point, the price advantage over cabs almost disappeared,” Gupta said.Gurgaon has repeatedly witnessed surge pricing during even brief showers, with its metro reach limited and cabs filling up for public transport. App-based cabs such as Uber, Ola and Rapido use dynamic pricing algorithms that raise fares automatically when demand outstrips the number of available drivers. During heavy rain, two things happen at once: more commuters try to book cabs to avoid getting stranded, while fewer drivers are willing to operate, as flooded roads mean longer trip times, lower earnings per hour and greater risk of vehicle damage. This demand-supply mismatch triggers the surge.While the Haryana Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified on May 21, empower the state govt to notify base fares and regulate dynamic pricing, it does not automatically fix the fares.On Tuesday, vehicles crawled through flooded stretches of Hero Honda Chowk, Rajiv Chowk, Huda Metro Station Road, Subhash Chowk, Civil Lines, sectors 45 and 70A. One commuter told TOI it took him more than 50 minutes to cover a four-km stretch between Huda City Centre and Bakhtawar Chowk, a journey he usually completes in under 10 minutes.Several passengers said drivers cancelled rides after accepting bookings, citing traffic, waterlogging and delays. “My cab booking was accepted twice but both times the drivers cancelled after a few minutes. One said he was stuck in traffic because of waterlogging and couldn’t reach my pickup point. By the time I booked again, the fare had gone up even further,” said Priya Sharma, who was travelling from Cyber City to Sector 57.Rohit Verma, commuting from MG Road to Sector 72, said though the rain wasn’t heavy, getting a cab became a struggle. “I kept seeing the fare increase every time I refreshed the app, and after two cancellations I had no option but to pay the higher price.”An app-based cab driver said the common perception that drivers profit during monsoon was misleading, pointing instead to the city’s strained infrastructure. “People think we earn more during surge pricing, but they don’t see the extra costs. We spend much longer on each trip because of traffic. Fuel is wasted while idling, and bad roads and potholes increase wear and tear on tyres and suspension. Sometimes it takes 30 to 40 minutes just to reach a passenger,” Ram Singh, a cab driver who has been driving with an app-based aggregator for five years, said.
