A Mumbai Uber user has alleged that a driver sent an abusive message through the ride-hailing app after a dispute during a booking for her mother. The incident, shared in a detailed post on LinkedIn, has raised concerns about passenger safety and platform response time.
The user claimed she had booked an Uber Black ride during heavy rain in Mumbai, expecting a safe and reliable experience for her mother. What followed, she said, left her distressed and questioning the platform’s accountability mechanisms.
In a detailed post shared on LinkedIn, Ankita Pathak wrote, “I seriously need to talk about what an Uber Black driver did to me and about the 48 hours of silence that followed and is still continuing. On 24 June, I booked Uber Black for my mother during rain in Mumbai. I chose Uber Black specifically for safety and reliability.”
She further alleged that the driver initially confirmed arrival but drove in the opposite direction and did not respond to calls. According to her post, when she confronted him, the driver responded, “Do whatever you want” and “leave me, I do not care.”
The situation escalated further when, as per her claim, the driver sent an abusive message through Uber’s in app chat feature, which deeply upset her. She added that despite raising a formal complaint with screenshots, she did not receive any response for nearly 48 hours.
She wrote, “A complaint of this magnitude is simply being ignored. This is not just about one driver. This is about a platform that allows such messages to be sent through its own app and then goes silent when a passenger reports it.”
Uber responds after public post
In an update shared later in the comments, Ankita Pathak said the company eventually responded after her post gained attention. She wrote, “Uber called me and confirmed that the driver has been removed from the platform. I am grateful to those who supported and shared my post. I was hesitant to write publicly, but the lack of response left me with no option.”
She added that while she appreciated the action taken, she was disappointed that the resolution came only after public pressure rather than through formal complaint channels.
She said, “The system should respond faster when safety concerns are raised. It should not take public posts for action to be taken.”
Internet reaction raises wider concerns
Several users reacted by sharing similar experiences with ride-hailing services, questioning consistency in handling complaints. One user wrote that they had reported a safety issue involving a driver late at night but did not receive a resolution, while another claimed their account was suspended after raising a complaint.
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Another comment read, “It does not matter that the driver was removed. There are many similar platforms, and such behaviour continues to repeat.”