A young woman from Melbourne has declared she will never ride in rideshare apps Uber or DiDi after she claimed the drivers made her feel uncomfortable.
Kat Zam, 38, posted a video on Instagram describing how she was left uneasy when male drivers asked for personal details about her.
‘I feel nervous, you know, when you get asked questions like “how old are you”, or “do you have a boyfriend”,’ she said in July.
‘I don’t want to be asked those things when I’m trying to get home, especially when it’s late at night. I just never felt safe.’
Ms Zam said she had a similar feeling when she used another rideshare app, DiDi.
‘I haven’t used Uber or DiDi in such a long time because I just didn’t feel comfortable, especially late at night,’ she told Yahoo News on Saturday.
‘I’ve had some weird experiences. Drivers would ask how old I was, if I had a boyfriend, one guy asked for my number.
‘There was just an overall fear for my safety.’
The Daily Mail has contacted Uber and DiDi for comment regarding the young woman’s experiences with their drivers.
Dozens of social media users commented on Ms Zam’s video, with some sharing similar experiences with rideshare drivers.
‘(Once) I couldn’t get the doors unlocked until I had given my Uber driver five stars (and I didn’t book the ride),’ one woman said.
‘Longest five minutes of my life and my last Uber trip.’
Another said: ‘Far too many trips I’ve been asked multiple details about my personal life by men and it’s just unnecessary.’
A third said: ‘An Uber driver once asked me out – like, dude it’s 1am, I’m tipsy, and you know where I live? NO!’
Research from the University of Melbourne has revealed women often face disproportionate rates of harassment and assault in n rideshares.
University of Melbourne Professor of Criminology Bianca Fileborn told ABC News in June 2024 that most passengers who report feeling unsafe are women or gender-diverse.
Based on research from two years earlier, she said the two groups were more likely to ‘receive unwanted flirting or inappropriate questions, especially about their body or gender identity’.
‘We also had a small portion of participants who experienced sexual or physical assault, the majority of whom were women or gender-diverse,’ she said.
‘It was vital that we noted that (drivers) are not more likely to perpetrate violence.
‘But there’s increased vulnerability when you’re in the car; you’re usually alone with a stranger, and they have complete control over the vehicle.’
In her video, Ms Zam described coming to her decision on Uber and DiDi after she tried rideshare app Shebah during a late-night trip back from an international airport.
Shebah only employs female drivers and prioritises safety during rides.
‘It was great I felt so safe and it was just really nice to not feel worried (like I have) when I catch Ubers,’ she said.