Uber and Ola have revolutionized travel and vehicle ownership. You do not need to own a car anymore and if you were finding it difficult to recruit a driver, you need not suffer anymore. The smartphone app comes to your rescue anytime and in large cities almost anywhere. We were staying at a hotel close to the airport in Udaipur in Rajasthan which limited our mobility in the main city unless we had a vehicle at our disposal. Then I tried the Ola and Uber apps. Voila, the apps sprang to life and indicated a short journey and pricing for a visit into the city. Riding in and out of the city easily made the city easier to explore and enhanced the comfort quotient. So when we landed in Jaipur, we knew that the cab aggregators would make our exploration into the shopping heartlands easy. One evening after having rushed to a recommended shopping area for gemstones called Chameli Bazaar, when we sought a cab with the help of an app, we were thrilled to find one within proximity. After having located the cab, we hopped in. After informing the driver about the destination, we had to nudge him to adjust his seat which was too reclined for our comfort. We also asked him to turn off the radio which was blaring at high volume. He adjusted his seat and then turned down the volume of the radio. I thought that he had not heard my instruction so I repeated to him that I would like the radio turned off. He turned it down further but did not switch it off. I was alarmed and I instantly repeated that I wanted the radio off. He responded that I should be okay with the radio playing at low volume. I was shocked at his insolence and sensed an instability in the driver’s behavior. I asked him to pull over the cab on the kerb as we wished to disembark. The driver pulled over the cab and continued to repeat that the radio was on low volume and that there is nothing wrong with that. As soon as the cab came to a halt, we swung open the door and rushed out. He barked asking who would pay the bill. I was going wild in my mind but peeped into the car and looked straight into his eyes and told him that Ola money would get paid automatically for the journey. By then we were contemplating taking another cab while an auto rickshaw was idling. The cab driver stepped out and approached me asking what was wrong and why were we not completing the journey. What was wrong??? I told him that we were completely dissatisfied with the way he conducted himself and that we would complain to the cab company. As he continued stepping closer to me insisting that he only wanted the radio to be kept on, I decided to make a move and we hopped into the idling auto rickshaw and egged the driver to our destination. None of us spoke for the next ten minutes. The creepiness of the cab driver had certainly affected our mental equilibrium. Although I was fuming with anger and was close to losing my cool. I was aware that we were not in the best neighbourhood and my wife was with me. I then decided to use my digital power and set about filing my complaint on the Ola app.
Would you have done anything differently?
Pratap Padode 