Concerns have been raised by consumers about the alleged abuse and misconduct by taxi drivers using two of the most popular mobile app-based taxi services in Sri Lanka. Frustrated customers are increasingly turning to social media to voice their grievances, claiming inadequate responses from the service providers despite lodging formal complaints.
One 28-year-old woman, Nimesha (name changed for privacy), recounted her experience of being verbally abused by a three-wheeler driver contacted through a mobile app. “I booked a three-wheeler to go home from the Colombo National Hospital through the app. After some time, I received a call from the driver. There was a lot of noise in the area, so he claimed he could not hear me properly. After several attempts to communicate, he hung up and called me a derogatory name,” she said. She had recorded the conversation on her phone and subsequently canceled the booking. Although she lodged a complaint with the service provider PickMe, she had not received a response about the outcome of her complaint.
Further complaints shared on social media suggest that women traveling alone are particularly vulnerable to harassment, either through verbal abuse or inappropriate messages from drivers. Another issue reported by several users is the aggressive behavior displayed by some drivers towards customers who choose to pay via card rather than cash. This has resulted in customers being unfairly charged when switching taxis or canceling services.
One individual shared an incident where his wife received obscene text messages from a taxi driver. Despite reporting the matter to the telephone company, the issue remained unresolved.
The Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) was contacted for clarity on the recourse available to consumers facing such incidents. W.W.A.K. Bandara, Director of Consumer Affairs and Information at the CAA, stated that customers could file written complaints with the Authority if the issue pertains to overcharging. However, he noted that for non-monetary complaints such as verbal abuse, customers could directly report the matter to the police. Bandara also mentioned that while many consumers may not be aware of the complaint mechanism available through the apps themselves, such options do exist.
Amid growing public dissatisfaction, some consumers have called on the government to introduce regulations to ensure better accountability from mobile app-based taxi services. Deputy Minister of Transport M.M. Prasanna Kumara confirmed that the government is actively examining the issue and intends to work with the National Transport Commission to formulate appropriate regulatory measures.
Attempts to obtain comments from two of the largest taxi service providers, PickMe and Uber, were met with limited success. Although several questions were emailed to PickMe regarding the measures in place to address consumer complaints, a response was still pending at the time of publication. The company later requested additional time to respond to the inquiry.
Efforts to reach Uber via their publicly listed telephone numbers were unsuccessful. Further responses are expected to be published when available.
