GrabTaxi said today it has dismissed a driver who threatened a female passenger after she reported him for reckless driving.
Seeking to appear proactive after a possible breach of customer privacy and safety, the company issued the statement after a driver reportedly called a passenger to to threaten her by reminder he knows where she lives.
“In response to one of our valued customer’s complaint regarding one of our drivers, we have taken the disciplinary action towards the driver and have expelled him from our community,” the company wrote.
The statement came after the passenger posted her story on Pantip on Wednesday, where it went viral.
On Pantip, “Clairezaa” claimed she had reported her taxi driver to GrabTaxi after he drove fast and recklessly, saying he almost hit another car on March 1.
After the taxi driver was suspended following the report, he used her phone number in the system to call her and make a threat.
“Why did you do it? Then don’t use GrabTaxi!” she claimed he said. “I don’t care who your dad is. I know where you live!”
The driver has not been identified.
Reached for comment, Kittima Sethi, PR Consultant from Brand Now agency which represents GrabTaxi, confirmed the driver they dismissed was involved in the incident described.
Clairezaa expressed doubt about GrabTaxi’s privacy policies as the driver was able to access her phone number. GrabTaxi responded that customers’ contact information is not shown to drivers, as they only push a button to initiate a call to passengers.
The user said she thought the driver must have had her number in the history of outgoing calls when he first contacted her for the pick-up.
While calling a taxi to arrive at one’s door is convenient and eliminates the pain of getting rejected, the incident is likely to alarm customers concerned with safety.
Drive services such as GrabTaxi are vying for market share and legitimacy while the largest international service, Uber, has faced legal hurdles or been banned outright.
Photo: GrabTaxi
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