Bengaluru techie turned Rapido driver to clean debts and realises bitter truth about an 'invisible' section of society: 'We often complain...'

A Bengaluru techie recently took to the subreddit Bangalore and shared how he was faced with financial difficulties and had to become a Rapido driver on weekends to pay off credit card bills. His stint as a cabbie helped him understand what gig workers went through.

Writing on the Bengaluru subreddit, the tech professional explained that mounting expenses after moving into a rented room led him to search for an additional source of income rather than borrowing money from family or friends.

The engineer said he had recently shifted out of a paying guest accommodation into an independent rental, which required spending heavily on household necessities. As those purchases accumulated on his credit card, he decided against seeking financial help from relatives or acquaintances. Instead, he wanted to increase his earnings through his own efforts. Since he enjoyed riding motorcycles and usually had free weekends, he believed working a few hours as a Rapido or Uber bike rider would be an enjoyable way to clear his dues while making productive use of his spare time.


After registering as a bike taxi captain, he completed roughly 20 rides over several weeks. According to him, the majority of passengers were courteous, and some even made for pleasant conversations during the journey. The experience initially left him wondering why more salaried professionals did not consider gig work as a part-time income source.

However, one incident dramatically altered that perception.

He recalled receiving a booking and reaching the designated pickup point, where the customer arrived accompanied by a friend who was heavily intoxicated. The drunk man immediately demanded that the trip be cancelled. The rider calmly requested that the customer cancel the booking instead because drivers are often penalised for cancellations initiated from their side.

The person who had booked the ride understood the situation and attempted to pacify his friend while assuring the rider that he would cancel the trip himself.

Before the matter could be resolved, the intoxicated companion suddenly approached the bike rider and struck his helmet with enough force to crack the visor. Rather than confronting the man or escalating the situation, the engineer quietly left without waiting for the cancellation process to be completed.

Reflecting on the episode later, he said he felt more disheartened than angry. Unlike full-time delivery and ride-hailing workers, he had voluntarily taken up the job for supplementary earnings and could simply stop working whenever he wished. That privilege, he realised, was unavailable to thousands of gig workers who rely entirely on such platforms to support themselves and their families.

The incident made him think about the constant risks faced by those workers, including dealing with unruly passengers, abusive behaviour, repeated cancellations, vehicle damage and unsafe encounters, all while trying to earn enough money to get through the day. He said the experience gave him a new appreciation for the emotional and physical burden that accompanies gig work.

The software professional also expressed disappointment with the support system available to drivers. He claimed that attempts to contact Rapido's captain support yielded little assistance, whereas customers appeared to have multiple avenues for resolving complaints. According to him, the imbalance highlighted how easily platform workers are overlooked until someone personally experiences their challenges.

He added that commuters often complain about drivers arriving a few minutes late or requesting riders to cancel bookings but rarely stop to consider the difficult situations these workers routinely face. While the day's incident cost him only a damaged helmet visor, he observed that for full-time gig workers, similar encounters could result in lost income, psychological stress or even threats to their personal safety.

The post sparked widespread discussion on Reddit. One user remarked that professional gig workers often develop a different level of resilience because they are regularly exposed to difficult or even more severe situations during their work.

Another commenter expressed sympathy for the software engineer and said that spending a year working closely with gig workers had revealed how low trust and disrespect often define customer interactions in India. The user noted that many people exploit not only large companies but also delivery personnel and drivers who survive on one completed trip or order at a time. The commenter further added that this behaviour was one of the reasons they preferred avoiding intoxicated individuals, observing that many drunk people become aggressive and later show little remorse for their actions.