Uber India directed by the Government to take action against drivers who harassed a disability right’s activist.

Key Highlights

Uber India has been asked by the Social justice and Empowerment Ministry to take action against the erring drivers following a complaint registered by a disability right’s activist who said that he was harassed and “treated horribly” by two Uber drivers in Chennai.

This order came after the department took note of the Facebook post made by the passenger whose name is Arman Ali wherein he had narrated the whole ordeal.

In the Facebook post, Ali further stated that he missed his flight and an important meeting because of this incident.

Uber India has been asked by the Social justice and Empowerment Ministry to take action against the erring drivers following a complaint registered by a disability right’s activist who said that he was harassed and “treated horribly” by two Uber drivers in Chennai.

This order came after the department took note of the Facebook post made by the passenger whose name is Arman Ali wherein he had narrated the whole ordeal. He said that the cab that he had booked was cancelled by the Uber driver in 15 minutes after he had confirmed it verbally. When he booked another ride , the other driver refused to help him put his wheelchair in the backseat of the car and then pushed him out of the car and proceeded to cancel the trip.

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A letter was written to Uber India by the Union social justice and empowerment ministry wherein they specified that the passenger who is based in Assam was harassed by the cab drivers when he was en route to board a flight on the 20^th of June.

The letter stated that one driver had cancelled the trip on his own, leaving Ali stranded for almost 15-20 minutes. He then proceeded to book another ride wherein the driver let him in the cab but refused to help him board his wheelchair in the backseat of the cab. The driver then pushed him out of the car and cancelled the trip.

The letter further asked Uber India to look into the matter and take appropriate action against the erring drivers. The executive director also asked Uber to sensitise its drivers to the needs of disabled passengers so as to avoid such an incident in the near future. Whatever action that Uber decides to take against these drivers should be shared with the department as well.

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In the Facebook post, Ali further stated that he missed his flight and an important meeting because of this incident. He also had to book another ticket which cost him additional expenses of ₹14,000. He had also tagged PM Narendra Modi and the Prime minister’s office in the post. Ali said that Uber India had apologised to him and said that they would return the cancellation fee of a mere ₹45 to him.

The National centre for the promotion of employment of disabled people’s Executive director (NCPEDP) on its Facebook page had shared the letter written by the department to Uber India, lauding this move. They were encouraged that the department had taken note of Arman Ali’s issue with Uber and had demanded a stern action from the cab aggregator against the guilty drivers. They further said that this was a wake-up signal to all the private and public service provides that they should provide access to everyone.

On this incident, Uber India promised stern action against the erring driver. They also expressed regret over the same. They further clarified that the cab aggregator doesn’t condone discrimination of any kind.     

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