Uber India — An uberpool ride.

Address:	Kolkata, West Bengal, 700023
Website:	Uber.com

Dear sir,

This mail is regarding a trip in uber pool i took today at 7.30 pm. Kindly let me start narrating to you as how things took place in seriatim. I booked a cab (Uber pool) at 7.10 pm for a fare stated being rs 35, on reaching my pick up spot and me in the process of getting into the cab, my neighbor told the driver that his tire was punctured, hence before starting the trip he sat to change his tire. On my request to cancel the trip he refused bluntly, after which i tried to cancel and realized that i would be charged cancellation fees of rs 60, thereby i refused to cancel and decided to wait for him to finish. Ultimately the driver managed to change the tire with the help of my neighbor and the trip started at 7.30. During this point another booking took place and a next passenger was supposed to share the cab with me. However on the the way to pick up this next passenger, the driver decided to use google map since he could not find the exact location as per directions stated by the next passengers. This led the driver to a different direction since the next passenger had not given the right location on her uber app, after repeated calls from her end, the driver realized that she was in a location we passed by long back. Moreover at that point we were stuck in traffic midway and and on a no u-turn road. However after waiting in front of her house for another 15 mins while the security guard doing his check before we entered the premises, the driver picked up the other passenger at around 7.45 who's drop was barely 15 minutes away from pick up spot and thereafter was on the way to my location. At this point i was sick and tried by the entire ride and the amount of time i wasted on such a trip. Finally on reaching my location what surprised me was the fare as per the drivers uber app showed rs 290 at around 8.20 pm.
And yes i did see the calculation of charge of the trip, funny thing is the driver roamed all round different locations for the next passenger and she paid a bill of rs 25, where as my drop was in a location only 30 mins away and i have to pay a bill of rs 290 including surge charge! Why was i not informed before booking that during the trip also if surge takes place, i have to pay all the extra charges.

All this only led to me to contemplate situations which any girl could face alone at late hours of the night, a drivers tire getting punctured and he refusing to cancel the trip, a wrong pick up location given by another uber passenger while on a uber pool trip, a fare (Absurdly charged) which one has no capacity of paying at that moment. What are the solutions to these problems, how are we supposed to equip ourselves for such horrid experiences. I have no issue against the driver or the next passenger but i would like to hear of some protections or guidance given by uber to their valued customers especially when faced with circumstances like this. I was taken aback and stuck thinking of no alternative at that moment and hence would not want any other person to face such a situation like i did.