Two creepy Rapido experiences in ONE day. Is Mumbai becoming increasingly unsafe for women?
Yesterday, my friends and I went to Phoenix Marketcity to celebrate a friend's birthday. We usually try to book Rapido Pink, but it's often unavailable, and yesterday was no different. So we ended up booking regular Rapido bike rides instead.
Incident 1:
This happened when my best friend was travelling to Phoenix Market city from Chembur. She booked a Rapido, and when the rider arrived, he waved at her, she simply got on without noticing anything unusual, gave the otp.
It was only later that she realised the bike had no number plate whatsoever.
She also noticed that the rider was behaving very sneakily, driving in a way that made it seem almost as though he was trying to avoid being spotted by the police.
At one point, the police stopped them. That's when things got even weirder. Apparently, the guy didn't even have a driving licence. He was also wearing a scarf or something covering his face and allegedly refused to properly show his face even after the police intervened. A policewoman eventually helped my friend get an auto instead.
Obviously, we don't know who this man was or what his intentions were. But imagine getting onto a bike taxi booked through an app, only to realise that the vehicle has no number plate and the rider allegedly has no licence. Could the vehicle have been stolen? Was he using someone else's identity? We genuinely have no way of knowing, and that's what makes it unsettling.
Incident 2:
I booked a Rapido to travel back to Kurla station. The driver asked me to come to Entrance 4 of Phoenix Marketcity, so I went outside. I assumed he probably couldn't come inside the mall premises, which was fair enough.
I saw him, gave him the otp. I was wearing a maxi skirt and explained that I could only sit sideways. He said okay. Then he pointed at my skirt and said something along the lines of: "Ma'am, aise skirts main bechta hoon. Aapko dikhau kya? Meri dukaan paas mein hai." I felt really uncomfortable hearing it, because is that even a normal conversation to have with a passenger? He kept on saying it two, three times when I was trying to get on the bike. And i kept on saying said "nahi chaiyye bhaiyya aap station tak chodo bass".
After i got in, he drove as though a 10 minute journey had to be completed in like 5 minutes, speeding through traffic surrounded by cars, bikes, ambulances and lorries. He was driving so fast that I thought abhi accident krwayega. And I was sitting sideways also, many instances mujhe laga mere pair lagg gaye kahi gaadi ke side mein. And my leg actually hit a man as we passed.
Throughout the ride, he kept trying to make small talk with me, which was incredibly uncomfortable considering how recklessly he was driving and how uneasy he had already made me feel.
I had no idea what was going through this man's head. What was I supposed to do or how was I supposed to react when he was speeding like this? I was sitting sideways on the back of a bike, surrounded by heavy traffic, it's night time and i was genuinely scared that I was going to get into an accident.
At one point, I started imagining myself ending up in the hospital. My mind was racing: Who would take responsibility? What would I tell my parents? Who would come and pick me up? How would my family even find out?
And to everyone asking, "Why didn't you confront him or tell him to slow down?"....
I was alone with a stranger who had already made me uncomfortable. I didn't know how he'd react or whether confronting him would make things worse. All I wanted was to get off that bike safely.
When we arrived, I paid ₹100 for a ₹72 fare. He said he didn't have change and offered to go to a nearby shop to get some, asking me to come along. I was like Bhai, keep the change.
Then he gave me the creepiest smile and said, "Gimme five star rating madam."
What made the whole thing even worse was that he looked visibly happy, almost amused, despite how uncomfortable I was. I was just relieved to get off the bike.
BOTH THESE INCIDENTS HAPPENED ON THE SAME DAY.
One rider allegedly had no number plate or driving licence and kept his face covered. The other drove recklessly, commented on my clothes, repeatedly tried to make small talk while I was scared, and seemed pleased by my discomfort.
We had tried booking Rapido Pink, but it wasn't available. We ended up using regular Rapido instead.
I'm not saying every Rapido driver is like this. But how are women supposed to feel safe when we can't be confident about basic vehicle compliance and safe driving?
Because honestly, after yesterday, I'm reconsidering taking bike taxis altogether.