Scariest Uber ride ever 😫

crazyH I don't understand why you didn't ring your family the minute he took a wrong turn. You could have had contact with someone straight away. Also were you sitting in the front seat, I ask because you say he must have noticed that you were going to ring 999! Also he lived in one of the most crime ridden parts of the city, but he was out making an honest living.

Crazy, how awful for you. As many have said, do use a well-known local cab service in future.

Didnt her husband hire them?

Kandinsky

This will be a non issue soon anyway as all cabs will be driverless.
Another 150,000 people out of work.

I find the thought of being in a driverless taxi even more frightening. Having been at the losing end of several satnav journeys, where my destination was changed during the journey without me realising, or the satnav getting lost and uite literally driving us around in circles. The thought of being in a driverless cab with a dodgy satnav is truly frightening.

I wonder if any men have these problems? I always sit in the front seat with my folded walking stick. I use something called nearby taxis who take a large chunk of the fare. If the taxi is clean and the driver pleasant I ask for their card and book individually if I can. Only one refused to take me to the centre of our local town as he hadn’t registered with the council. He wanted to drop me off some distance away and I pointed out I had a problem walking.

I would deff have been very worried. I would have rung daughter or whoever and said no I'm not home we seem to be going diff route round country lanes!! and stayed on the phone with some one. That was very scary for you I feel for you.

Hence I am going to keep driving as long as I can so I can have my own transport but of course not everyone has that opportunity. You must have so relieved to get to your home.

In Portugal last year we took an Uber to the airport in the early hours of the morning. I was impressed by the way he drove, but after getting out at the airport and thanking him my granddaughter told me that the driver had been on his phone the whole way. I was sat directly behind him so didn't see this.
She could have mentioned it before!

I thought the idea of phoning your family member and telling them what's going on was excellent. You can then say 'hang on' and ask the driver where you are etc. and then go back to your call. You are then in effect bringing another person into the cab with you.

You can also use WhatsApp to map your location as you travel. Find the person, get ready to send a message, tap the paperclip, location, share live location. Choose 8 hours (should be long enough). They will be able to see exactly where you are.

Its not just Uber though. I once had a frightening ride (in broad daylight light) with a driver who was busy regaling me with a misogynistic rant about women, culminating in him telling me how his ex had got a restraining order and how ridiculous the police had been arresting him for “only hitting her after she had provoked him!” I couldnt wait to get out!😳 frightening for me as he was taking me from my home to my office so then knew where I lived AND worked and this was with a local firm that supposedly CRB checked their drivers!

Must say we’ve never had an issue with Uber, and we (dh in particular) uses them a lot - often when I’ve said we could easily get the (free) bus to the railway station. On his own he uses them even more.
Around here it’s pretty usual to be able to have one arrive within a few minutes.

This will be a non issue soon anyway as all cabs will be driverless.
Another 150,000 people out of work.

DS and DDiL have a family Uber account so that their 18 year old daughter and 15 year old son is never stranded and forced to walk around their home town at late at night, or accept dodgy lifts to get home.

One anecdote of a truly frightening journey does not mean that Uber is not safe. Their are plenty of stories of journies in registered taxis going badly wrong, but in both cases these are exceptions not the rule.

crazyH

Went out for a meal on Thursday night, with 2 sons and ds-in-law. The Dad of one of the girls, drove us there and we took an Uber back.(midnight). I was the last drop-off.
What should have been a 15 minute ride on an A Road took him well over 40 minutes. He went through all the very dark country lanes, no houses around for miles. I was soooo scared 😱 I almost jumped out of the cab.
And then I purposely took my phone out of my handbag, ready to dial 999. He must have noticed that. I know I’m an old lady, but I did have a few bits of nice gold jewellery on me.
It was really scary. When I made small chat with him, I realised he was living in one of the most crime-ridden parts of the city.
My d.i.l.had told me to ring her when I got home and when I did, I rang her and she said, oh gosh, I was worried. I didn’t want to cause her more worry, so I said, he lost his way (which he probably did), but I was scared !!!
Henceforth I shall only use well-known local taxi firms - 😱

So glad to hear you are okay. What a frightening experience. I have never taken an UBER and definitely won't be taking one after hearing what you went through.😨

I've just had quick check on ChatGPT and the answer boiled down to:

"No. Uber drivers don't have to follow the exact route the Uber app suggests. They usually follow it, but they can legally and practically take a different route if there's a good reason.......It's considered good practice for drivers to ask the rider if they have a preferred route".

It then goes on to give examples eg if there's road works on the preferred route.

dirgni

An Uber driver told me that they have to follow the route that Uber tells them, even if it’s not the quickest or the most direct!

Hmmmm.....surely that would be easy enough for someone to check out whether they'd just been lied to by the driver - ie whether Uber says any such thing.

An Uber driver told me that they have to follow the route that Uber tells them, even if it’s not the quickest or the most direct!

A couple of years ago my daughter was telling me about a taxi ride that she had. She was a journalist for the BBC for over 20 years. When she worked late they used to pay for a cab home for her, but this particular driver started driving down an unknown route into an industrial estate, and she said if you don't start driving me the right way now, I'm going to ring the police, so he did. It made my stomach turn when she told me. And it was booked by the BBC, one of their regular companies that they use. I hope he got the sack. Terrifying!

argymargy

What were you scared of? Did anything happen?

A much shorter journey taking far longer than it should, obviously!
Sorry op, I know exactly how you felt. I was in a cab with my very young child years ago and the driver went into a religious diatribe, centrally locking the doors as he did so. Scared the holy f out of me! I was planning how I was going to fight him off, as I smiled, nodded and agreed with everything he said.
I complained afterwards, the driver was let go. Ours was the last in a long line.

I have used Uber many times. I don’t understand how friends ordered you one and then he charged you extra. You book an Uber through an app and the money is taken through the app so the person who orders the cab pays. The price is fixed when you book.

I think a lot of these drivers can hardly speak English, don't know where they are going and probably have only been in the country for 5 minutes.

Also l think some of them use each others licences and cars and maybe here illegally. Like a lot of so called workers in the so called Disruptive Industries.

DON'T USE THEM THEY ARE NOT SAFE.

crazyH

Yes, I remember the Shrien Diwali case 🥲

But that was a put-up job organised by Shrien himself because he was more gay than bisexual and couldn't cope with married life. He was charged with his wife's murder, but the trial collapsed because the judge said the evidence was too problematic as it come only from those involved in the plot and could not be corroborated by anyone else. He was not found not guilty, just that the evidence was not sufficient for a trial.

CariadAgain
I reported the rude and aggressive local taxi driver when I returned home . I was in such state -shaking and on the verge of tears .
He was once sent in error and I refused the ride .
I don't want other women to have my experience .

I haven't had a bad experience with Uber ,but I don't use them frequently.

The other thing which perturbs me is occasionally being asked if I live alone or who do I live with .
I always say with my sons and imply how sporty they are if pressed .
I'm describing my super fit beefy son in law who does rugby and boxes so the lies trip easily off my tongue.
I once had a taxi driver screaming I love you outside my house !
A taxi firm can't screen them fully if at all and anyone can apply for a job .

Outcast52

I don't understand all these negative comments about Uber. I have used them often for many years without issue. If you book on the app, the journey price is stated and that's what you pay. These comments about Uber drivers deliberately going a longer route so they can charge more are just wrong. The only reason you would be charged more than the price quoted when you book is if you gave the destination wrongly when you booked or asked during the journey for an unscheduled stop or diversion. You can challenge what you feel is an incorrect charge if it ever happens. There are no real safety concerns as you know the reg of the car and the driver's name so you can be sure you're getting in the right car and the whole journey is logged. Ubers are quick, convenient and generally cheaper than local taxis or black cabs. There's no tipping issue either as you can choose to add a tip (or not) on the app once the journey is completed. Uber every time for me!

Exactly this!

Yes you have to be so careful. Can fully understand how uneasy it made you feel. We live just over the border from Wolverhampton so if we want to go into the city for say a show it tends to be a taxi firm from there. It is an uneasy feeling after reading the article about how few checks Wolverhampton Council make on the taxi drivers applying for licences. We will now only use the local firm that my friend uses regularly. They are more expensive but hopefully trustworthy.

I don't understand all these negative comments about Uber. I have used them often for many years without issue. If you book on the app, the journey price is stated and that's what you pay. These comments about Uber drivers deliberately going a longer route so they can charge more are just wrong. The only reason you would be charged more than the price quoted when you book is if you gave the destination wrongly when you booked or asked during the journey for an unscheduled stop or diversion. You can challenge what you feel is an incorrect charge if it ever happens. There are no real safety concerns as you know the reg of the car and the driver's name so you can be sure you're getting in the right car and the whole journey is logged. Ubers are quick, convenient and generally cheaper than local taxis or black cabs. There's no tipping issue either as you can choose to add a tip (or not) on the app once the journey is completed. Uber every time for me!