Wheelchair-bound Delhi woman lashes out at Uber on Facebook after humiliation

Preeti Singh, a wheelchair-bound working woman in Delhi, took to Facebook to vent her anger after the driver of an Uber cab she hired left her humiliated on Monday.

Her complaint was that cars as well as drivers provided by the cab aggregator are not disabled-friendly.

“During my trip back home, I really felt humiliated and insulted when the driver kept saying ‘my car’s gonna get ruined’. I’m a very positive person but I did loose it a little. As I reached my destination I called my brother to clean his car with a cloth just so he never says that again to anyone,” Preeti said in the Facebook post on Tuesday.

It is, however, not the first time that she has experienced such “rude” behaviour of the cab drivers, Preeti mentioned.

“Uber drivers are not alone who have behaved rudely with me. I have faced same issue with Ola cab drivers too. At least, with Uber, the drivers accept to give me the ride, no matter how reluctantly. I remember an Ola driver saying no upfront because I have a wheelchair,” Preeti said when contacted by Hindustan Times.

She, however, feels that the drivers working with Uber India or any other cab service providers cannot be entirely blamed since they are not given proper training.

“Uber drivers are very good in general. It is the reason people use it, right? But there are times when they create a lot of fuss about it. I agree that they might have an issue with a wheelchair because sometimes they are not the owners of the car. If something happens to the car, the will be charged,” she said.

But the cab-hailing app is such that there is also no way of informing the drivers beforehand that the customer has a wheelchair until the driver calls, she added.

The cab aggregators should send cars which can at least accommodate wheelchairs, which can happen only if I can inform them while booking, Preeti said. She also sent a list of suggestions to Uber via e-mail.

It was, however, after 14 hours that Uber India responded to her complaint, Preeti said.

“I’m sorry to hear about what happened yesterday. As discussed over the phone, I’ve taken your feedback into strong consideration in order for us to make the improvements you look forward to. While I wouldn’t be able to provide an ETA, I can certainly assure you that we will take a closer look into this,” the company replied to Preeti in an e-email, which she shared with Hindustan Times.

It added, “Considering that you’ve made a special request of not taking severe action against any driver partner, we will work towards improving our driver standards instead of imposing any action against the drivers in question.”

Preeti said she was hoping Uber India would to take her suggestions seriously. “I am ready to give Uber another chance.”