Woman alleges Uber bike taxi driver demanded extra money, refused to end ride: ‘App ke hisab se thodi chalenge’

Cab-hailing services have now become an essential part of the daily commute. However, the safety concerns have grown increasingly as several jarring incidents regarding the behaviour of the cab drivers have surfaced online.

Several passengers have even complained about a scam application that cab drivers are using these days to charge an extra fare.

Sharing a similar ordeal on LinkedIn, a Delhi woman, a frequent Uber user, shared that she had booked an Uber bike taxi for her office. Upon reaching, she was told a fairly fare 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, a Brand Communications Manager.

“I checked my app, I saw the amount and told him ki bhaiya aap zyada bta rhe ho, itna nhi hai,” Kanchan tried to reason with the driver, who replied with: “Madam ab hum app ke hisab se thodi chalenge” and started arguing.

Without paying heed to the comment, the woman quickly scanned the code, paid the driver the amount shown on the app, and went inside the building.

But the bike taxi driver did not end the ride.

However, Kanchan was not prepared for the next 1.5 hours of her life.

The driver, who was in a different vehicle, not the one shown on the app, began making constant harassing calls and messages for the next 1.5 hours.

“I tried to cancel the ride from my end, but couldn't. I called Uber Safety Support and told them the entire situation,” she said.

She continued, “I told them that the 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 the scanner code that shows on the app. There is no end to the lengths he could go to, only if he wanted to.”

The Uber Safety Support team assured Kanchan that they'll handle it.

“But clearly, they couldn't,” she wrote in her post, and shared that the driver picked up their call once and didn't pick it up again.

“All that I got from them was that he is not picking up our calls, please call the local police or take legal action if you want to. He was not willing to end the ride; he was not going away,” she claimed.

Kanchan said that she had to ask a couple of her friends to help her deal with the situation. “At the end, I had to ask a couple of friends to help me deal with the situation. The driver did go away, but who knows...?”

She noted that to be scared and to live with this, day in and day out, is extremely disappointing.

“To watch your every step, looking behind all the time, always be careful and always think at least 10 times before doing or saying anything, especially when you are alone, is exhausting beyond the point of comprehension,” Kanchan said.

‘We take these concerns very seriously’: Uber

In Kanchan's comment section, Uber India stated that it takes such concerns very seriously and confirmed that its specialised team has thoroughly investigated the incident and taken action against the driver.

“Hi Kanchan, we are deeply sorry to hear this and take these types of concerns very seriously. We can confirm our specialised team has thoroughly investigated this incident and proper action has been taken against this driver,” the comment read.

“Our team has been in contact with you in-app and stand ready to provide police with any additional details needed,” it added.