BENGALURU: An average ride cost on Ola and Uber is up by 15% over the last one year, as per estimates by research & advisory firm RedSeer. This comes on top of a 10% increase in 2017, the firm said.The figures are a national average, and the actual changes may be different for different cities. Bengaluru users have reported significantly higher increases. RedSeer did not provide city-wise figures.The study, shared exclusively with TOI, said the average cost per ride on these cab-hailing apps has risen to Rs 220, compared to around Rs 190 last year. The incentives for drivers, which was used for several years to attract drivers to meet rising demand, saw a drop of over 30% in the last one year.This would explain why drivers of both Uber and Ola in Delhi and Mumbai went on strike on Tuesday. They were protesting falling incomes and extra hours to get incentives.The average income of drivers (including incentives but excluding EMI payments for their vehicles) used to be above Rs 30,000 in the second quarter of 2016, but hovers around Rs 20,000 a month now. Rising fuel prices also made a dent on their take-home income.Two years ago, incentives were about 60% of booking value. It came down to 18-20% last year, and is now down to 14-15%, RedSeer said. The study said that increase in fuel prices would have increased the fuel and maintenance expenditure of drivers by around 700 per month since August.Emails sent by TOI to Ola and Uber spokespersons on the study did not elicit a response.The declining driver incomes and rising customer costs are a reflection of Ola and Uber’s efforts to improve margins. Both were making heavy losses, but those losses are likely much less now. The two together account for about 3.2-3.5 million daily rides.