A Bengaluru woman has raised concerns over passenger safety after alleging that a Rapido cab driver verbally abused her and her husband and attempted to physically confront him during a dispute over an additional fare.
Srijoni Roy, who is a Marketing and Communications Strategist, shared her experience on LinkedIn, saying the incident happened while she was returning home from a hospital with her husband and their three-month-old baby after the child's vaccination.
According to her, the driver was rude and impatient during the ride. She also noted that his driving made the journey more stressful as the cab travelled through roads with several potholes.
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"Throughout the journey, he drove rashly on roads full of potholes. My husband requested him to slow down as we had a small baby. His response: 'The road is like this only. There are potholes. I can't fly.' We calmly explained that we travel on these roads every day and were only asking him to slow down. He ignored us," Roy wrote on LinkedIn.
The situation reportedly escalated after the cab reached the couple's residential society. Roy said the destination entered in the Rapido app included their block and wing, but the driver initially refused to drive further, claiming that entering the area would add extra kilometres to the journey.
The couple told him that any additional distance would be reflected in the fare calculated through the app. The driver eventually entered the society. However, after the ride ended, Roy alleged that he demanded an additional cash payment that was not shown on the app.
When Roy refused to pay an amount that was not reflected in the fare displayed on the app, she said the driver began abusing her.
Her husband, who was holding their baby at the time, then confronted the driver. Roy alleged that the driver continued to abuse the couple and moved towards her husband as though he intended to physically confront him.
"I stepped between them and eventually told my husband to just pay the extra amount and end the situation. That's what we had to do — sacrifice what was right because our priority was our baby's safety," she added.
'Being A Local Does Not Give Anyone A Licence To Disrespect'
Roy also raised concerns over what she described as assumptions about language and regional identity during the incident.
"Not everyone in Bengaluru who isn't Kannada-speaking is 'North Indian.' And even if someone is from North India — who gives anyone the right to abuse, intimidate or attack them?" she wrote.
She added that being a local does not give anyone the right to disrespect another person.
Roy said the alleged confrontation took place inside the residential society and that CCTV cameras captured the incident.
Rapido Customer Support Delay
The incident was followed by another issue, according to Roy. She claimed that she waited for more than 50 minutes for a customer-service representative after raising the complaint.
Roy said the chatbot repeatedly indicated that a representative would connect with her, but she continued waiting for assistance.
She urged Rapido to review the ride, the driver's conduct and the circumstances surrounding her complaint.
Rapido Responds
Responding to Roy's LinkedIn post, Rapido apologised for what it described as the captain's inappropriate behaviour and also apologised for the delay in providing customer support.
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"This is not the standard of service we aim to provide. Safe and responsible driving by our captains is extremely important to us, and any such behaviour is never acceptable. Kindly allow us some time to review your concern. We will get back to you with an update," their reply read.
The incident has once again raised questions about passenger's safety, driver conduct and the effectiveness of grievance redressal mechanisms on ride-hailing platforms, particularly when disputes escalate beyond fare-related disagreements.
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