E-hailing unveils a dark side of the business
The transport system is transforming which is benefiting ride-hailing the most. In addition, there are various factors which are responsible for boosting the growth in the ride-hailing market including increased comfort level, ease of access and reduced cost. The modern ride-hailing service is based on applications which require a smartphone to book a trip. Uber, Lyft, Didi Chuxing are some of the leading ride-hailing companies.
The young generation is the frequent user of the ride-hailing services as it is the largest group of smartphones users. However, with the rise of ride-hailing services, exploitations of women and teenagers is one of the key issues which is surfacing and can negatively impact the sector if appropriate actions have not been taken.
Recently, numerous lawsuits are filed against ride-hailing drivers for sexually harassing and exploiting women and teenagers during the rides. In August this year, a 20-year-old female passenger was raped and then killed by Didi Chuxing’s driver in China. Similarly, there are over 50 cases where women accused Didi’s drivers of sexual assault and harassment.
More than 100 cases are also registered against Uber under the rape and harassment accusations in the US. Back in April 2018, a 27-year-old drunk woman became the victim of an Uber’s driver in London. These incidents are not limited to just these two companies. Others, such as Ola, and Taxify are also facing similar lawsuits.
Such incidents flag a big question about these companies’ claims of providing safe journeys. The ride-hailing companies have now started providing training to its drivers to prevent such incidents, but still, the solution may not be sustainable. To ensure the safety and security of vulnerable passengers, some innovative features should be introduced in the system where the company can quickly be alerted in real time to avoid such crimes from happening.
Commodity Inside understands that sexual assault and harassment related offences in the traditional/street hailing system are significantly higher than e-hailing due to the lack of trackability. Therefore, in most cases, the victims opt to not report the incident for various reasons prominently due to the lack of ride particulars. In the modern app-based ride-hailings, offenders can easily be tracked. Furthermore, with the driverless ride-hailing technology such incidents can be fully rooted out.
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