For many travelling to the Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA), the most turbulent part of the journey is not the flight but getting to the terminal. Across the region’s key transit points, commuters are complaining of steep and erratic fares charged by app-based cab aggregators, prompting a shift towards local autos, shared taxis and low-cost platforms. A visit across Vashi, Nerul, CBD Belapur, Khandeshwar, and Ulwe found widespread frustration among airport-bound passengers over surge pricing by Uber and Ola, even during normal traffic hours.

Screenshots accessed by mid-day show that a 16-18 km ride to NMIA is being priced anywhere between R400 and R800, depending on the app, vehicle, location, and time of booking. Sachin Dahake, a Vashi resident, said, “After seeing the price of Uber from Sector-17 to NMIA, I cancelled the cab bookings and negotiated directly with auto drivers. The fare keeps changing every time you refresh.