Rapido Pink Ride Row: Woman Gets Male Captain Who Says 'Madam, I’m Gay'; Company Takes Action

New Delhi: A woman’s experience with Rapido’s women-focused Pink bike service has sparked questions over captain verification and safety after she said a male rider was assigned to her booking despite the service being meant for female captains.

Shalini Chaturvedi, an Instagram creator from Maharashtra, shared a video describing the incident. According to Chaturvedi, she booked a Rapido Pink ride expecting a female captain. However, a man called her after the booking and asked about her pickup location.

Chaturvedi said she reminded the rider that she had specifically booked the Pink service because she expected a woman to operate the ride. She alleged that the man responded, “Madam, I’m gay.”

She said she ended the call and decided not to take the ride. Chaturvedi also claimed that the profile photograph displayed for the booking appeared to be that of a woman, while a male rider arrived at the pickup point.

Woman Raises Safety Concerns

Chaturvedi said the situation made her uncomfortable because the man had reached her location and had seen her. She questioned how a male captain could be assigned to a service that she understood to be exclusively for female riders.

She also said she was charged a ₹15 cancellation fee after cancelling the booking, although the ride itself would have cost approximately ₹25. She criticised the platform over what she described as a failure to provide the safety assurance she expected from the Pink service.

The incident gained traction online, with social media users discussing driver verification and whether the person arriving for a ride matches the identity shown on the app.

Rapido Responds

Rapido apologised to Chaturvedi and said that Bike Pink rides are specifically meant to be assigned to female captains.

“We completely understand how distressing and concerning this experience must have been for you, and we're truly sorry you had to go through this,” the company said in its response. It added that it would investigate how the booking was assigned to a male captain and examine the captain’s conduct.

The company also said it would review the cancellation charge, stating that such a fee should not have been imposed in the circumstances described by the passenger. Rapido asked Chaturvedi to share her registered mobile number and ride ID through direct message so the matter could be investigated.

Captain's ID Terminated

In a subsequent update, Chaturvedi said Rapido initially told her that the captain would receive a warning and face stricter action if a similar incident occurred again.

She said she raised further concerns, particularly over her allegation that the captain had used the photograph of a female relative on the profile. Following the escalation, Rapido revisited the matter and, according to Chaturvedi, permanently terminated the captain's ID from the platform. The company also shared proof of the action with her.

The incident has since renewed discussion around identity verification and enforcement on app-based ride-hailing platforms, particularly for services designed specifically for women. On October 1, the Delhi High Court also sought responses from the Centre, Delhi government, Delhi Police and ride-hailing platforms including Rapido and Ola over a plea concerning safety mechanisms for women using app-based transport.

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