Uber is back in news for an alleged misbehaviour.
A Bengaluru woman, Aparna Balachander, resident of Bengaluru, has alleged that an Uber driver misbehaved and threatened her in a derogatory and sexually abusive manner.
Taking to social media, the lady narrated her ordeal and said that apart from the rude driver, even Uber’s safety system was a let-down. The incident reportedly happened on Saturday night.
She recalled in her post, “Today, I had the most traumatising experience of my life. I got into an Uber cab after dinner with my colleagues. The cab driver was telling his friend on phone about customers being ‘very bad’. Suddenly, he turned to me and told me that as an educated woman I should leave work before 7 pm and not go out drinking with colleagues. I told him I didn’t drink and asked him to mind his own business. He went on to call me “s***”.”
Hi guys, I need you all to take a minute and read my traumatic experience with the cab driver while taking a @Uber cab tonight! Help me spread more caution and awareness among women so that they don’t go through what I did! @UberINSupport pic.twitter.com/DNm5o1sa7S
— Aparna Balachander (@baparna_93) August 3, 2019
The lady pressed the ‘safety button’ on the Uber App a little later. However, instead of calling her up and enquiring about her safety, the support team called the cab driver. The driver started telling the customer care person that ‘she was extremely drunk’.
At that point, she started to scream so that the customer care might hear her voice. After which, according to her, “The woman on the call spoke to me and I cried begging her to help me. She told me to get out of the cab and that she will book me another one immediately. Meanwhile, this cab driver started threatening me with things like ‘I will tear your clothes if you don’t leave the cab now’ (sic).”
She further added, “As I got down at 11.15 pm in the night at a not so busy road, I was waiting for a call from the customer care and also for my backup cab. I was terrified that the cab driver would come back to hit me. After waiting for 15 minutes and desperately writing messages to the Uber Customer Care, I received no support and I had to call my friends to help me”.
@UberINSupport @Uber the entire day I haven’t received a single call despite of following up with you about my traumatic experience. Why do I have to keep following up for something so serious ? #UnsafeUber #NotSoUber #Uber @PrParameswaran @travisk @dkhos pic.twitter.com/jUbTuLsk7b
— Aparna Balachander (@baparna_93) August 4, 2019
“All Uber did was refund my money which wasn’t what I was concerned about at that point. If I as a customer press the safety button, it’s ridiculous that the call goes to the driver. I am beyond terrified with this Uber experience. I am raising this issue not only because I am terrified by my experience but also because the ‘Safety’ system of Uber is extremely messed up. How can the call go to the driver and not the customer who raised a safety concern?” wrote Aparna.
She also shared images of her trip details and her conversations with the Uber safety person.
Uber has reportedly ordered an internal investigation into the incident.