Ranjani Shankar needed to travel from Bengaluru city to Kanakpura road, it was a 38 km journey and that too in an OLA auto, undoubtedly she was very nervous.
Night journey from Bengaluru city to Kanakpura road is indeed not safe at all.
“He told me that the location I’ve asked for doesn’t allow autos in the suggested route, (highway/toll road) and so we’d have to take a different route. I looked up Google Maps to find the simplest route and told the auto driver that he had to follow the route I told him only with no deviation.”
The auto rickshaw driver was ready to go through the routes that were found by Ranjani but very respectfully told her that those routes don’t have proper lighting.
He was correct; the routes were almost dark, a 30 min journey with a complete stranger although the driver kept telling Ranjani that he has been trained by Ola regarding how to “drive for single woman”.
Ranjani reached her destination and the autowala was such a nice guy that he didn’t left Ranjani alone and waited there for 20 minutes till her friend reached there. “He waited 20 minutes with me until my friend arrived, crossed the road with me and ensured I got in safe.”
This is what she posted on Facebook:
The world needs more men like GhasamfarAli.K, a true gentleman who knows how to make a woman feel safe when the conditions didn’t feel that way.
After a one hour wait spent waiting in a Cafe Coffee Day looking for cabs on Uber and Ola, to take me from Bangalore city to Kanakpura Road, I finally could find only an Ola autorickshaw that agreed to make the 38km trip. In the meanwhile, I was also trying to get a ride from a friend who was headed in the same direction but a little later. So when my auto arrived and I got in, he told me that the location I’ve asked for doesn’t allow autos in the suggested route, (highway/toll road) and so we’d have to take a different route. I looked up Google Maps to find the simplest route and told the auto driver that he had to follow the route I told him only with no deviation. He said okay, but once I started telling him, he slowed me down to warn me that the route had super low light and checked if I was okay going on that route.
I took a few seconds to coordinate my ride with the friend who said he’d meet me half way and pick me up. So I just took the risk and trusted the auto driver, who’d definitely done everything right up until then to convince me.
The next 30 mins was an auto ride in complete darkness with a stranger in a city that’s not my home, with only my phone to keep me connected and provide me light. All through the ride, the auto driver kept checking if I was okay and mentioned that Ola had given him the right training to drive for single women and that I’ll be just fine. Even then, I was holding onto my pounding heart and hoping I reach my friend with no trouble. Not only did this man reach me safely to my destination but he waited 20 minutes with me until my friend arrived, crossed the road with me and ensured I got in safe.
What overwhelmed me was not how well he did his job, but that he was a decent human being who knew that safety is a single woman traveller’s biggest concern.
Thank you GhasamfarAli. Ola, you should be proud to have him drive for you.”
