Home was only a few steps away.But before she could step out of an Uber cab at around 4 AM, a Gurgaon-based sales manager says she found herself in an argument with a driver who had allegedly locked the vehicle and refused to let her leave.Within days, her account had spread widely across LinkedIn, with much of the discussion centring on her claim that she was unable to exit the cab. Speaking to Times of India, the woman – whose identity is being withheld on request – shared additional details about what she says happened that morning, why she chose not to approach the police, and what followed after the ride ended.
‘You will not be allowed to leave’
According to the passenger, the ride had already concluded when she asked the driver for a QR code to complete the payment.She alleges that the driver demanded an additional ₹500 beyond the fare displayed on the application.“When I questioned this extra charge, he activated the child lock and said that I would not be allowed to leave unless I paid the extra ₹500,” she said.The woman says she refused and warned the driver that she would call the police and contact friends nearby if he did not unlock the vehicle.According to her account, the door was eventually unlocked.“I felt trapped and intimidated because I was unable to open the door and exit the vehicle,” she said.
The ride was over. The ordeal, she says, wasn’t
In her LinkedIn post, the passenger said she shared her personal phone number because the platform’s calling system was not connecting and the driver needed a way to reach her.She later alleged that he continued contacting her after the trip.“I blocked him, but he continued contacting me from other phone numbers, including numbers belonging to his friends,” she wrote.
The allegation became a major point of discussion online, with many users raising concerns about sharing personal contact information outside a platform’s communication system.
Why she didn’t go to the police
One question surfaced repeatedly after the post gained attention online: Why wasn’t a police complaint filed?“Firstly, it was very early in the morning. I was tired, and I didn’t want to get into legal procedures,” she said.Instead, she reported the matter through the platform and expected action to follow.
Questions over the response
The Gurgaon resident also expressed disappointment with how her complaint was handled.In her public post, she alleged that after reporting the matter, she was informed there was no ride associated with her account despite sharing details of the trip.She said Uber later contacted her and apologized for the experience, but she felt the response did not adequately address the concerns she had raised.
Uber says action has been taken
Responding publicly to the post, Uber apologized for the experience and said action had been taken.“We deeply apologize for this disturbing experience. We take all safety reports very seriously, and following our safety team’s direct outreach to you, we can confirm action has been taken against the driver,” the company wrote.Uber also stated that rider and driver phone numbers are anonymized through the platform and advised users not to share personal contact information directly.
A conversation bigger than one ride
The woman says she never intended for the issue to become a campaign against the driver.“My main concern was to make Uber understand that they should take riders’ safety seriously,” she said.“I never wanted to take away his livelihood because of this.”Disclaimer: This report is based on allegations made by the passenger in a public social media post and comments shared with Times of India. The publication has not independently verified the claims. Uber’s response has been included as published publicly by the company.Thumb image: Canva AI (for representative purposes only)
