TW: Sexual Harassment
Update: December 18, 2023
A Bangalore resident was harassed by a Rapido captain during her ride from the Tin Factory area to Koramangala on Saturday, December 16, 2023. The woman shared her experience on the Bangalore subreddit (rephrased here): From making excuses of his phone’s dead battery to asking for personal details, the Rapido captain continued to harass the woman by touching her inappropriately and sitting too close over her inner thighs, causing her pain. The woman reported the matter to Rapido’s customer care, but received a response saying, “they’ll cross verify with the rider.” She later heard from the Rapido customer care team that the captain has been suspended. However, when asked for evidence of the suspension, she was refused any further information except the captain’s name.
Update: July 23, 2023
Another case of a woman being harassed by a Rapido captain was reported from Bengaluru. The rider started masturbating while on the way back and continued harassing the woman via WhatsApp after dropping her off. The rider has been arrested. However, Rapido has made no public statement with regards to this or several other such cases.
Update: June, 2023
Over 25 concerned citizens personally wrote to Rapido CEO in the matter urging him to make a public statement and include gender sensitisation to the onboarding process for its riders. However, the letters were met with complete silence from Rapido.
Update: May 23, 2023
Jhatkaa.org had written to Rapido CEO, Aravind Sanka, regarding the increasing instances of sexual harassment by riders. However, no response was received.
Rapido brands itself as “India’s first and fastest-growing bike taxi app” with operations in “more than 100 cities.” But at what cost are they growing at this pace?
Two days back, on 26 April, a woman jumped off a moving bike to escape harassment by the rider. In the last six months, at least two other incidents of sexual harassment have been reported by women-passengers on Rapido bikes.[1] [2] In both instances, the harassers have been arrested. But, to its shame, Rapido has remained silent - it has neither acknowledged these instances, nor made any changes to how riders are trained before accepting passengers.
In India, women’s access to transport and public spaces is largely underlined by feelings of anxiety and fear.[4] Many gender minorities take transport modes like Rapido to escape jam-packed or completely deserted buses due to the fear of harassment and lack of help in such instances.
However, rather than assisting, Rapido’s disregard for the safety of its especially women passengers is glaring.A quick search shows that Rapido’s riders’ on-boarding process is extremely arbitrary.[3] It is designed more like a register or log-in flow of any other app. The on-boarding makes no mention of how to ensure passenger’s safety apart from the riders carrying two helmets for themselves and the passenger.
Rapido’s concern for its riders or passengers cannot be justified with such pithy on-boarding mechanisms, because it is largely ignorant of the safety of its women and other gender-minority passengers. Riders are not even trained to respond to the needs of passengers, general etiquette, or the speed limit.
Join us in demanding:
- Reform company policy to ensure cooperation with and provision of all necessary details to the complainant to facilitate redressal and transparency in cases of harassment.
- Include gender sensitization as a mandatory module in their on-boarding process of their driver (captains).
#BikeWaliTaxiSabseUnsafe #GenderSensitizeRapido #RapidoShame
Sources:
[1] Woman from Kerala raped by bike taxi driver and associate in Bengaluru - The Hindu
[2] Woman jumps off bike taxi in Bengaluru to escape harassment - The Hindu
[3] How to become a captain on Rapido's fleet: Steps - India Today
[4] More than 80% of women commuters faced sexual harassment but only 1% reported it, here's why - India Today
TW: Sexual Harassment
Update: December 18, 2023
A Bangalore resident was harassed by a Rapido captain during her ride from the Tin Factory area to Koramangala on Saturday, December 16, 2023. The woman shared her experience on the Bangalore subreddit (rephrased here): From making excuses of his phone’s dead battery to asking for personal details, the Rapido captain continued to harass the woman by touching her inappropriately and sitting too close over her inner thighs, causing her pain. The woman reported the matter to Rapido’s customer care, but received a response saying, “they’ll cross verify with the rider.” She later heard from the Rapido customer care team that the captain has been suspended. However, when asked for evidence of the suspension, she was refused any further information except the captain’s name.
Update: July 23, 2023
Another case of a woman being harassed by a Rapido captain was reported from Bengaluru. The rider started masturbating while on the way back and continued harassing the woman via WhatsApp after dropping her off. The rider has been arrested. However, Rapido has made no public statement with regards to this or several other such cases.
Update: June, 2023
Over 25 concerned citizens personally wrote to Rapido CEO in the matter urging him to make a public statement and include gender sensitisation to the onboarding process for its riders. However, the letters were met with complete silence from Rapido.
Update: May 23, 2023
Jhatkaa.org had written to Rapido CEO, Aravind Sanka, regarding the increasing instances of sexual harassment by riders. However, no response was received.
Rapido brands itself as “India’s first and fastest-growing bike taxi app” with operations in “more than 100 cities.” But at what cost are they growing at this pace?
Two days back, on 26 April, a woman jumped off a moving bike to escape harassment by the rider. In the last six months, at least two other incidents of sexual harassment have been reported by women-passengers on Rapido bikes.[1] [2] In both instances, the harassers have been arrested. But, to its shame, Rapido has remained silent - it has neither acknowledged these instances, nor made any changes to how riders are trained before accepting passengers.
In India, women’s access to transport and public spaces is largely underlined by feelings of anxiety and fear.[4] Many gender minorities take transport modes like Rapido to escape jam-packed or completely deserted buses due to the fear of harassment and lack of help in such instances.
However, rather than assisting, Rapido’s disregard for the safety of its especially women passengers is glaring.A quick search shows that Rapido’s riders’ on-boarding process is extremely arbitrary.[3] It is designed more like a register or log-in flow of any other app. The on-boarding makes no mention of how to ensure passenger’s safety apart from the riders carrying two helmets for themselves and the passenger.
Rapido’s concern for its riders or passengers cannot be justified with such pithy on-boarding mechanisms, because it is largely ignorant of the safety of its women and other gender-minority passengers. Riders are not even trained to respond to the needs of passengers, general etiquette, or the speed limit.
Join us in demanding:
- Reform company policy to ensure cooperation with and provision of all necessary details to the complainant to facilitate redressal and transparency in cases of harassment.
- Include gender sensitization as a mandatory module in their on-boarding process of their driver (captains).
#BikeWaliTaxiSabseUnsafe #GenderSensitizeRapido #RapidoShame
Sources:
[1] Woman from Kerala raped by bike taxi driver and associate in Bengaluru - The Hindu
[2] Woman jumps off bike taxi in Bengaluru to escape harassment - The Hindu
[3] How to become a captain on Rapido's fleet: Steps - India Today
[4] More than 80% of women commuters faced sexual harassment but only 1% reported it, here's why - India Today