Several news outlets in India are reporting the raping of a young woman who was in an Uber car; she’s reported to be 25 years old by some and 27 by others. According to the report, the woman took the ride and slept off, only to be beaten and raped by the driver.
The driver took her home and threatened her not to report the case. The driver disappeared into thin air and disabled his GPS and mobile phone. The report stated that the woman was able to take a photo of the plate number of the car and submitted it along with her report to the police.
Uber is currently rising and has just been valued at 40b USD. This is a company that has been expanding globally and now available in 51 countries of the world including Nigeria.
From my research, I have found that Uber drivers needs to have a properly registered transport business in the city where they are to operate before they can register with Uber. The identity and full info about a driver is known. The vetting of the driver and other due diligence is done by the transport company (registered business in the city/country of operation). This makes me wonder how a driver in India can commit such an act and disappear into thin air
In a recent development, Reuters is reporting that the Uber driver that was alleged to have raped the 27 year old woman has been arrested in his home town. The police said they are going to take legal action against Uber for violations including a failure to check whether the driver, Shiv Kumar YaYadav, had a clean police record and the lack of satellite location device in the car.
It is possible that Uber in India failed to perform some form of due diligence; they dropped the ball there.
This raises a question; how safe are you in an Uber ride? A friend was on an Uber ride a few days back and mentioned to me how stupid she was to be arguing with the Uber driver. She was on the Uber ride alone and at night. Immediately, I asked if she was fine—she mentioned to me that she had gotten home.
If safety is not guaranteed, Uber might find it difficult to appeal to people in new markets, considering that their service is not the cheapest available. We have competing services like EasyTaxi, TranzitNG (now known as TaxiPIxi), AfroCab, and some others, who rely on an app to make rides available to its customers.
Related Article: Uber raises $1.2billion for Asia Pacific expansion
I took an Uber ride from the Aiport to the house the other day and I ended up spending NGN7,000. But it would have cost me NGN4,000/5,000 if I took a regular cab—unbranded.
Uber says they are assisting the police in this investigation in India. It is right for Uber to be strict in the recruitment process. There is need for Uber to take more stringent steps that will restore confidence in the minds of people who still want to use Uber in India. India is known for a high case of women rape.
Last night, someone tweeted her displeasure as the Uber driver she hailed cancelled 30 mins after failing to show up. The excuse the driver gave was that he’s tired and he is going home.
One of the reasons some have chosen to use Uber is the ease of haling the ride from an app, the transparency of the charges, a system that allow drivers to be rated, very comfy automobiles, ease of paying and a host of other things. But if Uber is not safe, they will lose some customers. Safety is high on most people’s list when they are picking a cab. It is the reason some in Lagos won’t board an unbranded taxi. A branded taxi has rules for members and they are reliable to a high degree. An unbranded taxicab hailed in the middle of the road possesses more risk.
Uber was recently in the news for digging up dirt on reporters/bloggers that have written some negatives things about them. Uber has history about you, where you have been and the places you’ve rode to using Uber rides.
Will Uber make its rides safer and protect the privacy of its users?
