NEW DELHI|BANGALORE: Uber and Ola have modified their incentive models for drivers after finding a number of them manipulating the system and draining millions of dollars in funds secured by the taxi-booking companies for expansion and customer acquisition.Drivers were pocketing incentives without actually ferrying passengers, many by getting friends to book a minimum number of rides or by merely logging in for specified hours to become eligible for bonus payments, according to sources and several drivers ET spoke with.According to the sources, Uber was losing at least Rs 500 per ride on an average, and Ola about Rs 420 per ride, including the incentives to passengers. In Delhi, Uber has lowered its daily incentive for a 12-hour login to Rs 3,000 from Rs 3,500, and made it mandatory for its drivers to log into the system at specified hours to be eligible for the bonus, according to the sources, who declined to be identified."We have been asked to log in from 5 am to 12 pm and 4 pm to 1 am to avail the Rs 3,000-per-day benefit. Adriver also has to do a minimum three trips to avail the incentive," said an Uber driver in Delhi.San Francisco-based Uber has also asked its drivers in India to constantly shift locations in order to avail the incentive, according to the sources and some drivers."Many of us just slept at home pocketing a cool Rs 24,000 per week. Now, if we are tracked idling at a remote location, the system sends us a message to change our location," said another driver in Delhi.Uber uses data to recommend to its drivers places from where they are likely to get maximum bookings, to ensure availability of cabs in high density areas. But unlike with Ola, which assigns rides to its drivers, Uber drivers are free to accept or deny bookings, which makes it more important for the company to keep drivers in high density areas.A spokesperson for Uber did not answer queries from ET on the changes to its driver incentive programme. Ola did not reply to emails from ET."Since drivers interact with the system throughout the day, some do start taking advantage of it by making fake bookings seem genuine," said Jaspal Singh, cofounder of Valoriser Consultants , which provides market research services for transportation companies.Ola, the country’s largest taxibooking service, has cut down on cash incentives for autorickshaw drivers who have signed up with it, as well as introduced electronic wallets for Ola Auto customers, to prevent drivers from abusing its system using cash payments that are harder to track, say sources.According to the company,speciabout 40% of its transactions are done electronically.After Ola acquired TaxiForSure in March, the two entities have cut down on both driver and customer incentives to curb costs.Some Ola drivers ET spoke with said they asked friends to book short trips through the day to get incentives of Rs 200-250 per trip. "After 10 trips a day we would also get a certain cash incentive. Many used to manage the 10 trips among themselves," said an Ola driver on condition of anonymity.In Bangalore, drivers attached with Ola Auto said they make fake bookings. "We get incentivised on number of trips we take. Sometimes, we request passengers to book a fake ride and give them a discount. No one loses but we get our incentives quicker," said a Bangalore-based Ola Auto driver.