Complaints about harassment by taxi drivers regularly spark public outcry in Uzbekistan. During a press breakfast, representatives of Yandex Taxi responded to a question from Podrobno.uz correspondent about how the service reacts to such incidents and what sanctions drivers may face.
According to company representatives, each complaint is reviewed individually. However, the service acknowledged that it is impossible to completely eliminate the human factor. They also emphasized that drivers are not direct employees of the company, so their ability to influence them is limited.
Anna Plotnikova, manager of special safety projects at Yandex Taxi, said: "First of all, I always feel sorry that women face such a situation. As a woman, I perfectly understand what it means." She noted that the service takes such complaints seriously and applies various measures against violators.
The platform has a system of graduated sanctions: a warning for the first complaint, a special training course for the second, and permanent removal from the service after a third complaint (even for inappropriate compliments). "If a driver receives a first complaint, we issue a warning. After a second complaint, he is sent to a special course where he is educated about the unacceptability of such behavior. If another complaint comes in after that, even about inappropriate compliments, the driver permanently loses access to the service," she stated.
The company stressed that while it can block a driver from the platform, it cannot replace law enforcement. In cases of harassment or other critical situations, passengers are advised to contact the police. "We can restrict a driver's access to the service, but we understand that a very important part of handling such cases is when the woman herself contacts law enforcement," Anna noted.
Saodat Akhmedkhodjaeva, head of PR at the service, added that the company cannot initiate a police report on behalf of the victim, but can guide her on how to do it and refer her to specialized support organizations. "We always recommend seeking help and are ready to explain how to do it correctly. We have user support instructions, and we can also refer women to specialized organizations and aid funds. However, we cannot initiate such an appeal instead of the victim herself," she said.
Yandex Taxi also stated that drivers undergo training before accessing orders, study service rules, and confirm their agreement to comply. During trips, monitoring systems for potentially dangerous scenarios operate, and passengers can contact support after the ride.
Separately, the service reported that it is currently considering new preventive measures, but details of the project are not yet disclosed. According to the aggregator's representatives, the maximum measure available to the service now is blocking the driver and denying access to orders.
Earlier, it was reported that a taxi driver in Tashkent locked the doors and harassed a girl. By court decision, he was arrested for 5 days.
Source: podrobno.uz