A frustrated Bengaluru commuter’s morning meltdown over skyrocketing cab fares and unavailability of rides has gone viral, striking a chord with thousands navigating the city’s midweek madness.
The post, titled with an exasperated “Is Wednesday officially the day you avoid work from office?”, has sparked a wider debate on whether Wednesday has become the new nightmare commute day in India’s tech capital.
In the viral post, the commuter shared how he struggled for over an hour to book a cab on a Wednesday morning, with no rides being accepted, and surge pricing pushing the fare to an outrageous ₹415 for just a 6-km ride.
“I know the brackets when to leave home to avoid all this drama and I’m well within my bracket,” the user lamented. “What next? Should I leave at 7? Then gradually at 6?”
“Autos, non-AC and AC cabs are all charging the same, and yet not accepting! What do these guys want? A pot of gold?”
He ended the post unsure of what chaos awaited him once he stepped out, saying it usually takes 20 minutes to cover 6 km,”but let’s see what happens today.”
Reddit reacts
The post triggered a flurry of comments, with many users echoing the frustration and sharing their own bizarre Wednesday commute experiences.
“Roads are literally crazy this morning,” wrote one commenter. “I stepped out at 6:40 am and even then it felt like rush hour madness. Some part of it is contributed by cows. So many of them. And they don’t budge, no point honking.”
Another user offered insight into why surge pricing behaves erratically, “Apps check how many hits they get for new bookings in a specific location. The more you reattempt, the more the price climbs. One hack I’ve found, let it try booking and time out, then search again. Sometimes the fare drops.”
Some Redditors pointed out that a possible bus strike may have added to the crunch, pushing commuters to crowd ride-hailing apps, and surge prices with it.
“Think there’s a bus strike today and the fares are too high cause of that,” wrote one user.
When another suggested switching to public transport, the original poster shot back, “People are legit falling off the bus, it’s that overcrowded.”
Several users lashed out at ride-share apologists who once promoted ditching personal vehicles in favor of app-based convenience.
“Wonder which hole the paid ride-share apologists disappeared into,” a user scoffed. “Traffic has been mind-numbingly bad of late, it’s unbearable now.”