MUMBAI: Commuters have complained of ‘refusals’ by Ola and Uber driver partners, saying drivers first ask the destination and then cancel rides instantly.
“This is absurd as driver partners are not allowed to ask customers about the destination. The moment a ride is booked, the driver calls up the rider to ask the destination, and if he is unhappy with the route, he conveniently cancels the ride leaving the commuter in the lurch,” said Shilpa Govale, who had to face three cancellations recently after which she got a ride.
Drivers avoid calling up passengers during bookings and simply send a message, “Where are you going?” or “Aapka drop kidhar hai (where is your drop)? “This is unwarranted. I have complained to Uber on Twitter,” said a rider. Uber told him to provide details about the trip and promised to “address the issue”. There are many complaints on social media.
Drivers’ union sources said that lately, due to Covid, there is no penalty for cancelling rides. But if there is a series of cancellations by a driver, the aggregator firm gives a “push notification” on the driver app, asking him to refrain from cancellations. If this continues, the driver is blacklisted, aggregator firm sources said. The drivers’ performance depends a lot on passenger rankings. “So, if there are more complaints, it affects the driver’s rankings and the aggregator firm can take action against him, and take him off platform if the complaints are serious,” said a source from an aggregator firm.
Commuters demanded that driver partners should be prosecuted by police/RTO for refusals Sudhir Bhosale, union leader from Maharashtra Rajya Rashtriya Kamgar Sangh, justified cancellations.
