Taxi services have now become an essential part of everyday commuting. However, safety concerns have been growing as several unpleasant incidents involving the behavior of taxi drivers surfaced online.
Several passengers have even complained about the fraudulent app that taxi drivers are using these days to charge extra fares.
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A Delhi-based woman, a frequent Uber user, shared a similar ordeal on LinkedIn, sharing that she had booked an Uber bike taxi for her office. When she arrived, she was told a rather high amount.
“Today I booked a bike from Uber to come to my office. When I reached I asked ‘bhaiya kitne hue?’ I told him to show his QR code. He told me a fairly high amount, one that I didn’t remember,” said Kanchan Kapoor, brand communications manager.
“I checked my app, saw the amount and told him ki bhaiya aap jyada bta rhe ho, itna nhi hai,” Kanchan tried to reason with the driver who replied, “Madam ab hum app ke asab se thodi chalenge” and started arguing.
Ignoring the comment, the woman quickly scanned the code, paid the driver the amount indicated on the app, and entered the building.
But the cycle taxi driver did not finish the ride.
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However, Kanchan was not ready for another 1.5 hours of her life.
The driver, who was in a different vehicle than the one shown in the app, started making constant harassing phone calls and messages for 1.5 hours.
“I tried to cancel the ride from my end but it didn’t work. I called Uber security support and told them the whole situation,” she said.
She continued, “I told them that this guy knows where I live (he picked me up from there), he knows where I work (he dropped me there) and he has my phone number because he made me pay on his personal UPI, not on the scanner code that shows up on the app. There’s no limit to how far he could go if he wanted to.”
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Uber’s security support team assured Kanchan that they would handle it.
“But of course they couldn’t,” she wrote in her post, sharing that the driver picked up their call once and didn’t answer it again.
“All I got from them was he’s not picking up our calls, please call the local police or take legal action if you want. He wasn’t willing to stop driving, he wasn’t leaving,” she claimed.
Kanchan said she had to ask a few of her friends to help her sort out the situation. “Eventually I had to ask some friends to help me sort the situation out. The driver did leave, but who knows…?”
She noted that having fear and living with it day in and day out is extremely disappointing.
“Watching your every move, constantly looking behind you, always being careful and always thinking at least 10 times before you do or say something, especially when you’re alone, is exhausting beyond comprehension,” Kanchan said.
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“We take these concerns very seriously”: Uber
In the comments section, Kanchan said Uber India takes such concerns very seriously and confirmed that its dedicated team has thoroughly investigated the incident and taken action against the driver.
“Hi Kanchan, we are deeply sorry and take these types of concerns very seriously. We can confirm that our dedicated team has thoroughly investigated this incident and appropriate action has been taken against this driver,” the comment read.
“Our team has been in contact with you on the app and is ready to provide the police with any further details required,” he added.
