Centre for Social and Economic Progress (CSEP) 190d ago

In this clip from the *OTP Please* book-launch, the conversation turns to a side of ride-hailing we rarely hear about — the fears of drivers. A long chat that Vandana Vasudevan had with an Uber driver reveals a pattern: on weekend nights, he avoids certain college routes because of past encounters with drunk passengers, especially young women who refused to pay, threatened false allegations, or intimidated drivers who had little power to push back. One colleague was so shaken by an incident that he stopped driving for months. This exchange turns a familiar media narrative upside down: • anxiety in ride-hailing is not one-directional — it cuts both ways • drivers carry real fear of being disbelieved or punished, especially across class lines • the same power imbalance that protects some passengers can endanger many drivers • gendered assumptions often hide the structural inequalities beneath these encounters A sharp, unscripted moment that expands how we understand vulnerability, trust and class in everyday urban life. Watch more clips in the OTP Please playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwR_MKIDt8M9RfHAPGkEWxF2_fyAGoXWk&si=LS0RBu3yryc1soJ9 #booklaunch #gigworkers #uberdrivers #safety #genderequality #urbanindia #csep