At a time when people have become increasingly reliant on cab aggregators like Ola and Uber, a man's distressing experience with an Uber driver has gone viral on social media. The user who goes by the name Gajender Yadav on X, and is an architect, has accused an Uber driver of harassing his wife and asking her to pay extra just one kilometre into the ride.
"If you are in Delhi....don't take ride with KARAN....car number DL1RTB4168. Absolutely nonsense behavior from @Uber_Support @Uber_India cab driver," the user said on X (formerly Twitter).
He said that after driving for just a few minutes, he asked for Rs 200 on top of the already agreed fare of Rs 101 on the Uber application. The passenger even pressed the emergency button in the cab, however, nobody took any action or followed up with her.
"After driving for 1 km....cab driver started asking for Rs 200 extra. My wife even pressed SOS button for help from Uber 2 fix this matter. It's been 2 days and not a single person from Uber care to know exactly why SOS was pressed. No follow up. That's the condition of UBER INDIA," Mr Yadav continued.
He also shared a screenshot of the ride details and continued in the caption, "I can 100% sure they even won't care to check the matter even after this post. Passenger safety is a Joke to Uber."
Reacting to this, the ride-hailing company said, "Hi, kindly confirm the amount of cash paid to the driver. We will follow up." Mr Yadav then added that it was not about the money but passenger safety. "It's not about F******** money. It's about SAFETY OF PASSENGER. Bunch of idiots sitting in customer service," he wrote.
In another post, he said that Uber is "refunding the money." "Why it is so difficult 2 understand the problem is safety of passenger. Why the hell SOS button was not working. What action have to taken on Uber driver. how can your driver ask a lady passenger to step out of the cab in middle of the ongoing ride???," he wrote alongside a screenshot of a chat with Uber support executive who "reviewed the trip" and "adjusted the trip fare to Rs 0."
On April 22, the man posted an update and said, "Call received from Uber & they have terminated driver's UBER ACCOUNT. Assured me his cab will will not be seen on Uber. They shared something related to SOS also. Will test that & then make it public."
In another update, Mr Yadav discussed about the in-app SOS button. He wrote, "Extremely important information regarding SAFETY when traveling with UBER. Dial 8800688666 incase you face any problem regarding your SAFETY & u will be connected with some1 from Safety department of UBER. My call connected within 1 min."
An Uber spokesperson confirmed that Uber has an in-App SOS button, which connects you to local law enforcement authorities, when pressed.
Since being shared, his post has amassed a lot of attention on social media.
"I was told by a Uber driver that the sos button is only for show and it does not work... He even pressed it two times in front of me and nothing happened," said a user.
Another wrote, "It's been long since I have stopped using Uber Ola for important travel plans. Better to have a local cab driver contact, even if you pay them 200-300 extra, you will have peace of mind."
"The uber service is getting worst day by day. Fares are crossing the limits, sometimes drivers are not accepting rides, once they accept they don't want to come and don't even cancel the trip from their side. Hope uber takes note of these problems," commented a person.
"Problem with all online aggregators and e-commerce is same. You can enjoy convenience but safety and complaint redressal is zero. You're on your own because even police would do nothing," remarked an X user.
