A woman’s disturbing experience with a Rapido bike taxi driver has triggered concerns about rider safety and accountability among gig economy service providers.
Instagram user Priyanka shared a post detailing how a Rapido ride left her feeling unsafe and shaken.
It all began when the Rapido driver refused to provide a helmet to the passenger, claiming it wasn’t needed — despite not wearing one himself. “This might be the first time when I felt super unsafe with the way the Rapido driver was driving,” she said.
She described the rider’s “super chill” attitude despite repeatedly violating traffic rules. He allegedly drove on the wrong side of main roads multiple times, made sharp turns, and was listening to music and chanting “Har Har Mahadev” each time he passed a Shiv Kanwad tent.
Priyanka recorded parts of the ride on her phone and even confronted the driver, who justified his actions by blaming traffic congestion.
What’s worse is that their vehicle collided head-on with another two-wheeler — right in front of a Delhi Police car. While the Rapido driver sustained injuries, no police action was taken, and Priyanka paid the fare before walking to the nearest metro station.
“This is just to highlight @rapidoapp @rapidocaptain to hire people who are responsible rather than those nonchalant guys who ride like they have nine lives,” she said in her post, which also included a video showing both her and the driver riding without helmets.
See the post here:
Rapido responded to her post on Instagram, apologising for the incident. “We understand your concern regarding safety and sincerely apologise for the unpleasant experience you had,” Rapido said, reiterating that helmets are mandatory for both drivers and passengers and urged her to share her ride details via direct message so appropriate action could be taken.
In a follow-up, the company acknowledged Priyanka’s decision to refrain from taking action against the driver: “As per your request, we are not taking any action against the captain involved.”
Priyanka, meanwhile, thanked users who expressed concern and said she is completely fine. She added, “Such drivers are registered on every app. Maybe it just wasn’t my day, but I wasn’t seriously injured — my Rapido driver was. So, I didn’t file any complaint against him, as I believe everyone deserves a second chance.”
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