Sharing a cab saves money, but...

The recent horror story of a woman being assaulted by a copassenger makes us ask what pool riders face

The recent incident of a woman assaulted and abused by a co-passenger in Mumbai has raised a lot of questions about the safety of shared cabs. Pooling is costeffective and many have to go for it, but commuters we’ve spoken to have some seriously unpleasant stories to tell us.

“I must have committed a sin that I end up being the witness of people’s sob stories,” says Namita Gulati. “Once, this woman was ranting about her ex-husband and sharing details of her extra-marital affair with her best friend without bothering to acknowledge that there were two more people in the cab. She kept talking loudly for an hour at stretch.”

Another class of shared-cab passengers consists of those who’re always complaining — for being dropped last; for the route being taken; or because of another passenger’s drop-off. Recalling how he had to face the tantrums while sharing a cab with an elderly woman, Piyush Luthra says, “This 50something aunty got her daughter to book the ride and my drop was before her. When we took the right turn, she created a scene and started shouting at the driver that how could he take a different route. She argued with me that I have no shame that a woman should get dropped first.”

A lack of etiquette makes Vandana Vashista, a freelance writer, fume. She says, “I was on my way to the hospital to see my mom and I had a bag, which I kept on the floor since I took a shared cab. But this guy next to me was all over the entire back seat by himself, which is basically for three people, with his backpack in the middle. He didn’t budge to make space for me until I asked him.”

And don’t be surprised if you come across co-passengers who could be potential stalkers. “Within half-an-hour of getting dropped at my location, I got a Facebook friend request from the man who was sharing the ride with me. I was shocked that just by first name, he was able to trace me on social media,” says a user, who later took up the matter with the cab service provider.

Another commuter says that a man, with whom she shared the cab and exchanged phone numbers for professional purposes, started messaging her every morning, badgering her to ride-share with him.