India, April 17 -- There was a time when travel was an act of spontaneity. You had a week off, a cousin's wedding in another city, or simply a restlessness that needed geography to cure it - and you booked a ticket. Not a spreadsheet. Not a three-hour comparison exercise across six tabs. Just a ticket.

That time feels almost quaint now.

Somewhere between a relentless climb in aviation fuel costs, dynamic pricing algorithms that seem personally offended by your desire to fly on a Friday, and toll rates that treat every highway like a private members' club, the simple act of getting from one place to another has quietly transformed into a financial negotiation. Travel - for work, for leisure, for a medical appointment in a city with a bet...