Bengaluru techie, working as Rapido driver on weekend, assaulted customer

A Reddit user has claimed that he was assaulted a customer while working as a Rapido driver in Bengaluru. The user, a software engineer profession, had started driving for Rapido to pay off some credit card debt.A Bengaluru techie claims he was assaulted while working as a Rapido driver. (Representative Image)“I became a Rapido captain on weekends to pay off my credit card bills. Today I understood what gig workers go through,” he said in his Reddit post.Techie works for RapidoThe Bengaluru techie explained that he has a decent paying job, but racked up some credit card bills.“Recently, I moved out of a PG into a rented room, bought a bunch of essentials, and ended up piling quite a bit onto my credit card,” he said. To pay off the bills, he decided to start working as a Rapido bike taxi driver.“I love riding bikes anyway, and my weekends are usually free. So I thought: Why not do Rapido or Uber rides for a few hours? I’ll enjoy riding and make some extra money,” he said.The Bengaluru techie claimed that things went well for a few days and he completed around 20 rides without any problems. Then, an incident occurred that changed his perspective on the lifestyle of gig workers.(Also read: Bengaluru software developer drives Rapido on weekends despite MNC job with 6-figure salary)Assaulted on duty“I got a ride request and reached the pickup location. The person who booked the ride came out with his friend, who was completely drunk,” the techie recalled. “The drunk guy started shouting, ‘Cancel the ride! Cancel the ride!’”The techie claimed that he politely requested the customer to cancel the ride “since captains can get penalized for cancellation”. The person who had booked the ride was understanding and kept telling his drunk friend to calm down.While all this was happening, the drunk man walked up to the Rapido driver and hit his helmet.“The impact cracked the helmet visor,” the techie said, adding that he did not shout or argue. “I didn’t even wait for the cancellation anymore. I just left.”Read the full post here.On dangers of gig workThe Bengaluru-based software engineer asked his readers to spare a thought for those whose livelihood depends on platforms like Rapido, Uber, Blinkit etc.“I chose to do this. If I don’t like it, I can simply stop taking rides next weekend. It’s just extra income for me. But what about the people whose entire livelihood depends on these platforms?” he asked.“Imagine dealing with drunk passengers, abusive customers, cancellations, damaged vehicles, and unsafe situations regularly—just to earn enough for the day.”(Disclaimer: This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.)