Who protects you when your ride goes wrong? Commuters question cab app safety

Have you wondered what happens after you complain against a cab driver to the ride hailing app? The information may unsettle you because a passenger’s concern for safety does not match an app’s pecking order of complaint redress.Behind the current blackhole-like opacity of most cab aggregator apps lies a categorybased complaint system that commuters are rarely made aware of. When they click the app’s help function in distress, what greets them often is an AI chatbot and some options to choose from. There is no human in the loop to address the problem of a rider’s safety and a driver’s misbehaviour.

AI FirstHow an automated interface affects a rider is apparent from Shweta’s case.

The 27-year-old was on her way home from a hospital with her mother in an app cab one day. The driver repeatedly complained about the route. Then he demanded extra money. “When I refused to pay the extra amount, he rudely asked us to get off well before the drop-off point,” Shweta said.The matter became harder to manage as the driver allegedly became intimidating. Shweta tried reaching out to the platform’s support for assistance.

Instead, a chatbot greeted her. There was no option to speak to a human when she needed help the most. The two women got out of the cab.Shweta gave the trip a one-star rating and left details of the confrontation in the in-app feedback system. What Shweta received was “a generic apology”. After she reached home and sent an email to the platform, the aggregator informed her the driver had been blacklisted. No evidence of the action was shared, she said.For Shweta, the bigger concern wasn’t the driver’s behaviour. It was the lack of timely human support.

Unwanted ChatFor Kavita (23), a routine cab booking became unsettling even before the ride began.“A friend was booking a cab for us near the Greater KailashI M Block Market. While he was on a call giving directions, the driver may have heard my voice in the background. After the call ended, he texted my friend, ‘brother, are you having fun right now?’” she said.The group reported the incident to the cab aggregator. They were given the assurance that action would be taken. Kavita said they never got any clarity on the outcome of the complaint. “The driver’s behaviour left us very scared,” she said.Shreyanshi (25), who is a PR executive, said the boundary was crossed differently in her case.“Recently, I booked a cab, but the driver wasn’t moving towards my location. I called him to understand the reason for the delay.

He started abusing me,” she alleged.Shreyanshi said she took screenshots of the conversation and shared these with the platform’s support team, expecting a follow-up. No update on the complaint came to her. Other commuters too said that there was a lack of transparency on what action was actually taken by the platform to redress a passenger’s grievance.

Fare UnfairFor Madhu (37), a routine request from her cab driver led to repeated messages on her personal phone.While she was waiting for her cab outside Delhi airport, the driver asked her to contact him on his personal number. He claimed the recharge plan for the number listed on the app was about to expire. After she shared her number and boarded the cab, the driver allegedly demanded more money for entering the airport parking area. Madhu refused, but the driver continued muttering.The matter did not end there. Later that evening, the driver allegedly began messaging her repeatedly, asking her to pay at least Rs 100 more.

Madhu blocked his number. What seemed a normal exchange of numbers, she said, ended up becoming an invasion of her privacy.Several other passengers alleged that drivers asked for their personal numbers or asked about the fare. Then they told them to cancel the ride on the app and offered a cheaper fare.Drivers that TOI spoke to said that many do this to avoid paying commission to the platform. Commuters say such arrangements remove the safeguards built into the app, including tracking and SOS support.

Wheel of ControlSeveral passengers said they felt they had little control over the ride once it started.Harsh (28) said he was rushing back to his PG as the phone battery was running low when the driver began manoeuvring recklessly. “He drove at high speed, broke traffic rules, and repeatedly overtook other vehicles. Despite my repeated requests to slow down, he didn’t listen,” Harsh said. At one point, the cab allegedly brushed against another vehicle.

Inside the car, Harsh hurt his leg because of that. “The driver apologised, but within minutes was speeding,” Harsh said.Satyam (31) said he was on his way to work and requested the cabbie to drive faster so he could reach office on time. The driver continued smoking, driving with one hand, while talking on the phone, and ignored Satyam’s repeated requests, he said.. “When I confronted him, the driver told me: ‘You can complain, nothing will happen.’”

In the two cases, the conduct of the cabbies raised the same red flag: the driver decides what the ride experience will be like, not the passenger.

More Questions, Less ClarityAn official of a top cab aggregator platform responded to some questions of TOI .When asked how complaints are tackled, he said the app follows a two-tier resolution mechanism. “Complaints submitted through ratings and feedback are treated as servicerelated inputs and are generally not followed up,” he said.

It meant that merely giving a bad star score would not lead to any meaningful engagement with the app.Complaints involving serious safety concerns, such as altercations with drivers, route deviations or aggressive behaviour, are handled through the app’s “Need Help with the Ride” option, which connects users with a customer support agent. If a driver is found to be at fault, the way to penalise him is through an internal scoring system.

“Repeated complaints can lead to temporary suspension, while drivers involved in severe or repeated violations may be removed from the platform,” he said.There was, however, no way of knowing how the internal system scored the drivers, or how many drivers were suspended after complaints were brought against them.The cab aggregator executive also claimed that the app provides a safety helpline, accessible during the ride and for up to 30 minutes after.

Safety-related complaints are followed up through phone calls and emails, he said, adding that the app has an SOS button that connects the passenger to the nearest police station. “Live location, vehicle registration number, driver’s history on the platform and other relevant information are then shared with the police to facilitate prompt action.

A law enforcement response team (LERT) coordinates with the police and responds to requests in such cases,” he said.When asked if the platform initiates legal proceedings, the official said the onus was on the passenger. The aggregator can share ride records and other information whenever these are sought for legal proceedings.

What Drivers SayWhat happens after a commuter files a complaint against a driver? When drivers were asked this question, the answer explained the opacity. A 37-year-old cab driver, working for seven years, said: “In most cases, even if it’s a serious complaint, a simple apology is enough.

In my circle of drivers, I have never seen anyone getting delisted or banned because of a complaint.”He added that penalties are imposed only in cases where complaints are backed by evidence, such as screenshots or voice recordings. Permanent removal from the platform is rare.TOI also asked several drivers why a cab with a different registration number from the one on the app lands up for pickup often.A 46-year-old driver, who has recently joined an aggregator platform, said the discrepancy may occur when a nearby driver is reassigned a booking to reduce the waiting time.A cab aggregator official, however, contradicted this. Its explanation also raised a question of safety, which is hard to ignore, but, perhaps, equally hard to resolve.The official said the platform does not replace one car with another, as suggested by the driver. That is an action left to the rider.Commuters must verify the driver’s identity and vehicle registration number before boarding, he said. If either does not match the details on the app, a rider should cancel the trip and report it by selecting the “details did not match” option.

A ride taken in an unregistered vehicle or with an unauthorised driver may not be accurately tracked during an emergency, the official said.To curb this behaviour by drivers, the aggregator has a real-time ID Check feature, under which drivers are periodically prompted to take a selfie to verify their identity.Safety Path AheadOn the legal aspects of a complaint, a police officer said, “When a commuter files a complaint against a driver, an FIR is registered.

We seek details from the cab aggregator.... If the driver is absconding, we make every effort to trace and apprehend him.”A senior Delhi govt official said govt and police are working on the “Safe Delhi” app, designed to enable users to activate an SOS alert through a voice command by saying “Help” thrice. Upon activation, the application will transmit the user’s live location to the Delhi Police control room in less than a second and provide real-time audio and video streaming.The application is also proposed to include features such as GPS-based tracking, safer route suggestions for women travelling alone, and the facility to send emergency alerts to family members and trusted contacts through SMS and WhatsApp.A pilot of the app has shown encouraging results in central Delhi, the official said.