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Since we all use cab services, I thought it is pertinent to bring such incidents under the light. Unfortunately, although facilities such as Careem or Uber doesn’t come without their pitfalls, it’s important to take a stand when they don’t even pretend to provide you basic security.
On that note, I booked an Uber from Jinnah super to Melody. Later that evening, I started receiving calls from strange numbers. Turned out, the Uber driver had leaked my number. Not only that but he’d also given them my physical description and the address of where he dropped me, (my friend’s place).
The guy harassing me admitted that the Uber guy, Mohsin, had told him my name, the standard conversation I was having with my friend, my friend’s house address and he explicitly described my looks. I was concerned about my security, so I and my friend finally decided to visit the Uber office situated in F-10.
There, we put forth the whole situation in front of their floor manager Imad and their operational manager Imtiaz Ahmed. To our utter dismay, they refused to take any action against the driver. When we asked them to, at the very least, summon him to the office, so we can have a talk with him regarding his behavior and to ask him to stop spreading my number and giving away my friend’s address, they swiftly refused that option as well.
They asked us to email support center in Cairo and see if they replied to our predicament because they apparently didn’t have any policies in regards to making their drivers accountable for their actions. Uber specifically is still in the growing stages and this sort of behavior will always be a hurdle if Uber is looking forward to providing cloud coverage across Pakistan.
Females need to be handled with extra care and security otherwise the trust level that has built up for using these services will shatter in a matter of time. I’m very disgusted with their service and lack of action against the drivers who step out of line. I’m sure this isn’t the first time this has happened and this won’t be the last if people don’t take any action against it. It makes me think what they’ll do if the any of the drivers turned out to be a serious violator.
I think we, as a community, need to take a step against such loose behavior, so these organizations are forced to increase their security measures, because we as a consumer have the power to make or break their business if they’re reluctant to provide us security or at the very least, make the violator face some consequences.
Because of the company, Uber refused to take any action whatsoever for their driver’s reprehensible behavior or at least call up the driver to question his motives to scold/stop him. There’s another incident that happened two months back.
An Uber driver picked me up from my office. His car smelled really bad, so I rolled down the window but he immediately rolled up the windows by his own. I felt weird but kept my mouth closed for a while. And all this time he was also on a call with a girl. When the smell became unbearable, I took out my body spray and sprayed it on myself so I can block the odor.
To my horror, he suddenly stopped the car and put on the child lock. He started shouting at me, accusing me to be a part of some gang. I was horrified and scared because he had trapped me in his car and was refusing to let me out. Then he started yelling at me and said that I know your type of girls. You girls wear jeans and such shameless clothes (ironically I was in proper shalwar kameez with a shawl covering my head). I asked him to let me out but he refused and said that he’d let me out after he sees my house.
He then started his car and dropped me in my street. Since I was scared for my safety I kept my mouth shut. After he dropped me in my lane, he waited until I got inside my house. He ran away when he saw my brother though.
These drivers think that they are not liable for anything.This is not happening for the first time.I personally know a lot of people to whom such incidents had occurred. Please raise this concern and demand so that Uber would develop a policy against such behavior and violations.
