‘Rs 1,000 For 21 km’: Chennai CEO Experience With Rapido Ride

In Chennai, a Rapido customer recently claimed he was charged double fare by a driver citing alleged waterlogging as a reason for the inflated fare. Ashok Raj Rajendran, founder and CEO of AJ Skill Development Academy, posted on LinkedIn about his experience. He booked a Rapido ride from Madras Central Railway Station to Thoraipakkam, a 21-km journey, which showed a fare of ₹350 on the app. However, the driver reportedly demanded ₹1,000, citing waterlogging concerns. After negotiating, Rajendran agreed to pay ₹800, still more than double the original fare, even though he observed no waterlogging en route.

Complaint Response and Rapido’s Initial Closure

Rajendran’s complaint to Rapido’s customer service was met with a disappointing response. In his post, he shared a chat screenshot where the customer representative attributed the fare discrepancy to a “dropped location discrepancy,” even though this difference was only 100 meters. Despite Rajendran’s insistence that the issue warranted attention, the chat was closed without further action.

Rapido’s Resolution Following Public Complaint

Following Rajendran’s public complaint, Rapido responded and resolved the issue. The ride-hailing company contacted him, refunded the extra fare to his Rapido wallet, and assured that “strict action” had been taken against the driver, who also received retraining. Rapido expressed commitment to prevent such issues in the future.