Questions over safety of travelling in Uber cabs came to the fore once again after a Uber driver left a family in the middle of the road for declining to utilise his service outside the ambit of the app. The cab aggregator is receiving brickbats online for the “callousness”.
Rishi Bhatia, travelling with his wife and three-year-old child, booked a cab at 10 pm on Sunday night from Kempegowda International Airport. After starting the journey, the driver told the couple to cancel the trip and ride outside Uber’s network, which will save him the commission paid to Uber, which is 25% of the fare.
The couple declined. “Since we were near the airport, we asked him to drop us (at airport) so we can get another cab. But he was not ready to do that either. He switched off the AC, locked the windows and doors. We felt really unsafe,” Neha Sehgal Bhatia, Rishi’s wife, wrote in a Facebook post, which went viral.
The couple then called the police (100) and some security guards passing by for help to reach the airport. “(As) the security of the airport intervened, he (driver) just ran away, dropping our luggage in the middle of the road (sic),” she said.
In between, they called Uber helpline. The recorded conversation shows that Uber will not offer any help in such circumstances. In the eight-minute conversation, the helpless executive at customer care says he can’t do anything other than advising the passenger to call the police.
Repeated incidents
In December 2018, DH contacted Uber several times over the recent trend of drivers urging customers to cancel the rides and travel off the Uber app. In one incident, a customer travelling to the airport was stranded on road.
The cab arrived but the driver insisted that the customer cancel the Uber booking. “The driver offered that I can pay Rs 100 less than the amount shown in the app. But we did not want to take the cab owing to lack of safety,” said Aradhya (name changed).
Responding to Neha’s post, Uber released a statement: “We regret the inconvenience caused to the rider. This form of misconduct by a driver partner violates our community guidelines. We are investigating this matter and will take necessary actions, as needed. Safety is paramount to Uber and we are deeply committed to it.”
However, Neha noted that Uber never contacted her after the incident to enquire about her safety. Several individuals expressed shock and shared similar experiences online.
Commenting on Neha’s status, many shared similar experiences with Uber and urged her to take action. “This is very common with Uber. You may file a case against Uber, since it’s their deficiency in service. They are liable for your safety,” John Deep Pandian wrote on Facebook.