Taxify has been widely accused for having bad service.
One of the biggest allegations were the sexual assault claims that Taxify now claims were actually fake news. Read their side of the story and tell us what you think.
On 9th December 2018, a Taxify customer by the name Gloria Nyaruai posted a tweet in which she claimed that her Taxify driver had attempted to touch her inappropriately. The rider claimed it had happened on a late-night ride, in the presence of her boyfriend. The claim was immediately flagged by Taxify and escalated to their high priority team. To guarantee the safety of other riders, Taxify
deactivated the driver’s account and contacted the rider, so as to pave way for transparent investigations. The investigating agencies contacted both the driver and rider to come forth and make statements. The investigation process was carried out to completion, and the driver was cleared of all wrong doing. As a result, his account was restored. The story was widely picked up by local media and several articles were published on the same. This continued the trend of fake news that has been widely spread, mainly through social media, concerning Taxify and its activities in the country. In this instance, the rider took down their tweet once the driver filed a statement and the police tried to contact her. Another such incident took place earlier in the year when another rider claimed that the driver had tried to kidnap her. In that occurrence, upon further probing, she admitted to the story being a prank her friends had dared her to play. As Taxify, we would like to express our extreme concern and disappointment that this trend of fake news has continued to permeate both online and mainstream media without consideration for the effect it may have on the business and Taxify’s driver partners. Additionally, the stories are never followed up (denying us the right of reply) and as a result, the public image left lingering is one with negative connotations. This not only has adverse effects on the company, but more importantly on the drivers. The numerous stories published leave drivers unable to earn a living by driving on the platform. This occurs through their accounts being deactivated for misconduct, or the lower volumes of rides experienced due to less consumers riding on Taxify.
The incident on 9th December is simply one instance where the driver has received the police clearance certificate freeing them of all wrong doing on their part. However, other drivers have also been cleared before but those stories never seem to get widespread coverage. We urge both the public and the fourth estate to be more prudent in the stories they choose to share and consider the effects it may have on the driver partners if the story proves false.