72-year old Sucheta Juvekar, recovering from a knee replacement surgery, booked a cab with one of the ride-hailing apps to reach her home in Goregaon. However, she was in for the shock of her life as the driver started the trip and asked her to get off midway. To make matters worse, the woman was charged Rs 137 as waiting fees.
Mrs. Juvekar’s cab was booked from Bhandup (W) at 7:36 PM and once the driver arrived, he apparently asked her to get down after three minutes of the trip. “The driver asked me to book another cab,” Juvekar said. The ride was booked for Goregaon, but the driver reportedly wanted a trip that would go towards his home in Sion.
Commuters in the city have also come across excuses ranging from lack of fuel, traffic issues, and so on to avoid trips. There are several instances wherein cab drivers also refuse prepaid trips, saying they only accept cash.
This practice has unfortunately become quite common with ride-sharing services, and there seems to be no remedy in place to counter this in the long run. While services like Ola and Uber offer the ability to address concerns directly within the app, or through social media platforms like Twitter, it hasn’t done much to curb this menace.
Speaking to TOI, an official from one of the cab aggregator services said: “The rider can seek action, refund or redressal through various options provided in the app itself.” The official also mentioned that drivers can be blacklisted or even removed from the platform in “extreme” cases.
Booking a cab using a smartphone can be a difficult ordeal for elderly people. While cab services have set up booking stations at key centers of the city, it’s not available everywhere. Keeping this in mind, it’s near impossible to expect a senior citizen to go through the app settings in order to lodge a complaint or request a refund. Perhaps companies can take a cue from these incidents and make it easier for everyone to use and access their services.
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