On February 6, Bangalore-based artist and social media analyst Michelle Alvez booked an Olacabs ride, and had to cancel it minutes later. Here's the text message she received from the driver on cancellation, which she tweeted.
"It was my birthday and my friends at work wanted me to stay with them till midnight. My colleagues felt it would be unsafe for me to travel home alone late, so I cancelled the cab a minute after booking," Alvez told BuzzFeed.
Soon, people started reacting to the incident and showing support for Alvez.
@saffrontrail @probablytrippy @Olacabs I can only imagine how it would have been if I actually travelled with this guy at night.
But as you would expect from Indian Twitter, there was banter, and even Alvez participated like a trooper.
"Ola did contact me regarding this and were very apologetic of the incident. They said they would take stern action regarding this," she told BuzzFeed.
"Right now I just feel glad I didn't take the cab and head home at night, and I hope that other women do not have to face abuse when travelling home from work or anywhere else after a late day," Alvez further added.
According to Olacabs' support account, the driver was terminated soon after.
@Micha_Alvez In response to our discussion, we have terminated the driver with immediate effect. We standby to our promise to your safety.
But seriously, Olacabs...
