Telangana: Cabbies scared but can't refuse drunks

Hyderabad: Cab drivers say that they cannot refuse drunk passengers even though they would like to do so. Though most of them remain fearful while ferrying drunk customers, they are even more afraid of suspension by their cab service providers. Mr Rahul Vyas, a cab driver in Hyderabad, says, “On one weekend, a drunk customer got into my cab near Hitec City. I was really worried when the customer fell asleep in my cab and didn't get up even we reached her location. I had to call the security guard to wake her up otherwise she may have thought that I was misbehaving with her.”

The 28-year-old cab driver says that he has had three to four similar experiences over the past few months. “Last week two drunk passengers who had booked a shared ride got into my cab. Another couple who had also booked a shared ride got into the cab after that. Unfortunately, they thought that I was drunk and started questioning me, which was very embarrassing,” he said. Customers give drivers poor ratings and file complaints with the service provider because they think that they are drunk. Service providers block such drivers without looking into the matter.

“Service providers trust the customers more than they trust drivers. Just one negative feedback can result in a big loss for us,” he says. Cab driver Somesh Kumar had a bad experience with a drunk customer. “A drunk man got into my cab. I stopped at his drop point, but he asked me to go further. I refused because I had another customer He then pelted my cab with stones and damaged the front,” he said.