'After I jumped into a ride-share car, the driver said something that terrified me.'

I recently had a deeply uncomfortable ride home from a friend’s house.

It started off normal – I ordered the ride, waited for the driver, said hello, hopped in. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I’m usually the type to just sit there scrolling Instagram, avoiding awkward small talk, but the driver asked me about my day, my job, why I had a weird accent (I’m a Kiwi, and it’s not weird).

Then he said something that piqued my interest: “I’m in love with someone who doesn’t love me back.”

I was intrigued, so I started asking questions.

He told me he had a passenger a few weeks ago and the pair had hit it off. They’d exchanged a few texts and he’d given her a few free rides to work and back home.

“That’s nice,” I thought.

He then said she told him she wasn’t romantically interested in him and I was like “bummer, dude.”

He said she began ignoring his messages and rejecting his advances because she’s not interested, man, give it up.

But he persisted – “I just wanted to take her out for dinner or something, but then I found out she was lying to me.”

Lying? How so?

She’d told him her dad was picking her up from work one evening, however he then ‘spotted’ her walking to a bus stop. A bit weird, I thought, but probably just a coincidence.

But then.

“She told me she was sick the next day and didn’t need a ride to work,” he said.

By this point my eight minute ride felt like an eternity.

“…I wanted to find out if she was lying so I parked outside her work and waited. And she wasn’t sick, she was at work.”

What? Did he… Did he just admit to stalking a passenger?

I began to freak out:

1. Did the app I was using automatically give him my number?
2. He’s dropping me home. He knows where I live.
3. Is this other girl okay?
4. What do I do?

By this stage we were about a minute from home – so I awkwardly nodded and shuffled in my seat. I told him to drop me off a few doors down and slowly wandered in the opposite direction of my house until he’d driven away.

It was only later after the initial shock wore off and I told someone else what had happened that I realised I should report him. Except honestly, I didn’t know how.

I’ve done some research and have now filed a complaint. But I feel it’s important to share this information, so here’s how you can report inappropriate driver behaviour, and keep yourself and others as safe as possible.

How to report inappropriate drivers.

Taxis.

You can place a complaint about a taxi driver by contacting the taxi service provider directly. Most providers provide a feedback form on their websites.

If you feel your complaint has not been managed correctly, some states have regulatory organisations you can elevate your complaint to.

The process for further complaints differs for each state. Should you feel your complaint has not been managed correctly, you are also able to lay a complaint with your states regulatory transport body.

Uber.

You can complain about an Uber driver both in-app and online.

On the app, select ‘Help’ and then ‘Trip and fare review’. From here, you can select your trip and submit details detailing how a driver was unprofessional.

Lyft.

Lyft operates a 24/7 contact support centre. From its website, you can request a call or email where someone will contact you about your issue.

From within the app, you can submit a ride complaint by selecting ‘Ride history’ and selecting a ride. From there, you can scroll down to the bottom to select either ‘Get help’ or Request review’.

Taxify.

If required, you can select the SOS button at the top right hand of your screen of the app during a Taxify ride.

You can also lay a complaint from within the app with as many details as possible.