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We all swear by the comfort of cab-calling apps these days. There are so many different services they’ve introduced that make not just commuting, but also things like ordering autorickshaws, calling for food, postpaid payment options easier. But what about passenger safety? Particularly female passengers. Sure, many of them have emergency SOS buttons in the apps that passengers can click, and even share their live tracking with family members, but how effective is it all?
Recently, a woman narrated her harrowing ordeal with Ola cabs in Bengaluru that might stamp a huge question mark on female passenger safety while using the service.
Twitter user Akanksha Hazari was travelling from Bengaluru Airport to the city in an Ola cab, which she termed the scariest ride of her life, and rightly so.
2nights ago, Dec 10 night, bet 11-2am I was harassed & nearly assaulted on an @Olacabs ride from Bangalore Airport>City. I am sharing my story because after 3days of followup, I have received no update & in fact been charged for the scariest ride of my life.This is what happened
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
The driver turned off the GPS directions that Ola initiates the moment a passenger is picked up.
It is to be noted that sometimes, if the route deviates, then you may even be charged extra. The driver in this case did it to avoid the toll, citing lack of cash to pay the toll as a reason.
I got into the @Olacabs at 11:31pm time at Bangalore airport. The route directed the driver to take the Toll road into the city. The drive turned off this route towards the back road to avoid the toll, claiming he had no cash. The back road is a narrow, long and unlit.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
He took a road that was unlit and barely any traffic. Akanksha was uncomfortable with the road and asked him to head back and take the original route.
One that I (& many women I know) are uncomfortable going via, especially at night. I was alone in the car, at this point past midnight, & felt uneasy about this route. I asked the driver to please turn around & go back to the toll road & follow the route directed by the app.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
However, her pleas were ignored, and he asked her to get out of the car.
This is when things went terribly wrong. The driver became aggressive & told me to get out of the car. I protested. How can he leave me on the side of a dark back road, in the middle of the night, no alternatives, far outside the city? All I saw was darkness & a few men loitering
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
She used the Emergency button the Ola app and got a call back from an Ola executive.
I immediately pressed the Ola emergency button & got a call back. I explained the situation to the @Olacabs Safety exec & he spoke to the driver. The agent spoke to me again; he said the driver who will drop me to the location & that the exec was now actively tracking my ride.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
The trip continued but then again the driver began with his antics again. When Akanksha tried to tell him to stop talking on the phone, things began going south.
He promised if there was any deviation from my route he would contact me immediately. I believed him & continued on the trip, just wanting to get to my destination & out of the car asap. A few minutes go by & now my Ola driver starts to make a calls.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
I politely ask him if he could not make calls while driving. Not only for road safety, but because like every woman I was wary of who he could call to our location at this time of night. He spoke in Kannada so I couldn't understand the conversations. He doesn't stop.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
A little later, the driver altogether stopped his car and began making his calls again.
A few kms further down he stops the car on the side of a poorly lit road and turns of the engine. He continues to make calls. Now I am really scared. There is nothing around me. Again only a few men loitering. I am not from Bangalore and I don't know where I am.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
As for the safety executive who was supposed to be tracking the ride, there was no response.
I start to run through how I can get myself out of this situation. I am also wondering where the Ola Safety Exec who promised to be tracking my side is. The car as been stopped for a few mins now. He would see that if he was tracking the ride. But no call.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
I immediately start to press on the emergency button again. 1..2…3…5…10 times, no call back. I call the police and give them the cars plate number. They ask where I am but I don't know how to explain it. The call ends and I have no idea if they are coming or not.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
The driver gets out of the car and continues to talk on phone in Kannada. Panic rises for Akanksha because her battery is low and she doesn’t know what to do.
The driver is out of the car continuing to make calls in Kannada. I don't know whats happening, but I am now scared that I have limited time before whomever he is speaking to is also at our location. My phone is on 5%. I go into the Ola support menu.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
When she finally gets through to an executive, the driver ignores the calls from the Ola executive too.
*I* have to dial the service centre & explain everything again, in tears now, who forwards me to a totally new Ola Safety Exec. This Exec can hear my tears & panic. He starts trying to reach the driver who initially ignores his calls because he is making his own.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
Finally, he takes the executive’s call, and after a verbal fight, gets back in the car to continue the trip.
Finally he takes the Exec calls. There is a very heated discussion. After some time, the Exec speaks to me & says has made the driver commit to dropping me to my destination. Further I am to take the drivers phone & he will stay on speaker until I reach, like a remote escort.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
This way the driver is also unable to make more calls. I take the phone with the agent on speaker. The driver gets in the car & the ride starts again. The next 30-45 mins are incredibly stressful. I am doing my best to calm myself and stay alert in case anything further happens.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
Finally, Akanksha reaches home, safe, but definitely not feeling it.
In case I have to take action or even get out of the car & just run to keep myself safe. Finally I reach, leave the phone and get out of the car as fast as I possible can.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
In her tweets that follow this account, Akanksha raises some important questions that the cab service company definitely ought to lend their ears to.
@Ola these are all the places you failed me:
1. How is this driver on the road in the first place? Your screening, training and safety processes are broken.
2. Why didn't your emergency button work the second time? It is not an option for this button to ever fail.— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
3. Where was your first executive when the car clearly had stopped? I trusted him when he said he was tracking my ride & he failed me.
4. How dare you charge me for the most horrific experiences of my life – claiming that I "completed the ride"?— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
Most importantly:
5. Where is your follow up? I had to chase you for an update on the status of this driver (& refund! that never came). I still don't know if you have taken him off the road, OR HE'S STILL OUR THERE PICKING UP OTHER WOMEN— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
This is not my first safety incident with you, but certainly the worst. Even those other times I have no idea what action you took with the drivers. You also always charged me anyway.
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
@Olacabs what are you doing to keep women safe, truly? Because right now, it looks like women are just a revenue stream to whom you do enough to *appear* to care, but you're just in it for our $ in reality. Once you have it, you're gone. @bhash @ola_supports
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
The Bengaluru police noted Akanksha’s tweets and asked her to DM them details about the driver and the cab.
I have shared the details over DM @BlrCityPolice
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
Thank you, I will follow up on these numbers. Some action should be taken against @Olacabs because they are putting these drivers back on the road
— Akanksha Hazari (@AkankshaHazari) December 11, 2018
This isn’t the first incident of horror cab rides that have come to light. Some action and laws need to be put in place to make sure this doesn’t continue to happen. The first thing that Ola can actually do here is to ensure they have quicker and effective responses to their Emergency button.
An Ola Spokesperson has responded to the incident with the following statement:
“We deeply regret the experience that the customer had to go through. The driver in question had been off-roaded immediately, and has been blacklisted from the Ola platform. Safety of customers is our top priority and we are committed to ensuring that initiatives like the in-app Emergency button, a 24×7 Safety Response Team, and Ola Guardian amongst others, help our customers feel safe when they use the Ola platform. We have extended support to the police in sharing all information to help them with the investigation”.
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