Vidya GopalakrishnanArmed with a mobile phone camera, Vidya Gopalakrishnan stood her ground—or better say, sat firm in a Uber cab—at the Ernakulam South Railway Station, against a group of unruly auto-rickshaw drivers. The drivers surrounded her after she had hailed the cab for a trip to Kakkanad. The drivers wanted her to leave the cab and hire a vehicle from station’s pre-paid counter. She refused.
The video clip of the ruckus she posted went viral, and she became the darling of the social media overnight. The video and her words have raised several questions that need to be answered.
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Safety of women traveling alone is still a matter of concern, despite taking precautions and assurances by the police. Vidya’s experience once again points at the concern most women share. It also triggers the question whether an individual, especially a woman, doesn’t have the right to choose his or her mode of transport.
Vidya shares her experience:
Lodged a written complaint
I lodged a written complaint with the city police commissioner. The complaint was on two counts: One, the harassment by auto drivers, and two, against the police personnel present at the scene, who sided with the drivers.
Why Uber?
My safety is of paramount importance when I travel. Uber, being an online cab service, could be tracked. We get to know the cab, the identity of the driver and his mobile number while booking the service itself. My husband had then booked the cab for me, and since the booking was made online, he had the details of my travel. When we have control over the cab we ride, it gives us an extra confidence. Even after the incident, I took a Uber-operated cab at 10.30pm the other day to lodge the police complaint. I am confident I will be safe in the cab.
Experience with auto-rickshaws
Once I forgot my mobile phone and purse in an auto-rickshaw. Several attempts to track the vehicle went in vain. Such vehicles cannot be easily tracked.
The Uber driver
In normal circumstances, especially with the police taking sides against you, the traveler seldom has much option other than to leave the cab. The Uber driver stood firm. If he had asked me to take another vehicle, I would have heeded to him. But his firm stand that he has the legal right to ferry passengers emboldened me. As long as there is no ban on online taxis, people will opt for their services. Additionally, such taxis charge lesser than auto-rickshaws, and are safe and traceable. Auto-rickshaw drivers cannot resist such taxis with muscle power. They should start cahrging passengers according to the fare meter, rather than refusing to operate the meter. If Uber drivers can make both ends meet despite operating on lesser fare and giving the commission, why not others too? No one has the right to hinder the citizens’ freedom to travel.
But one question still remains: When those policemen who were supposed to protect the freedom to travel support the violators, does safety of woman remains to be a mirage?
