Indian Student In US Stranded After Lyft Driver Flees With Luggage. CEO Reacts

Shreya Verma is a student at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

An Indian student in the United States was left stranded on the road in Boston as a cab driver abandoned her and fled with all of her belongings. Taking to LinkedIn, Shreya Verma, a student at Harvard University Graduate School of Design and resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, revealed that she was on her way to Logan International Airport for a flight to India to reunite with her family when her Lyft driver abruptly cancelled the ride, took all her luggage and left stranded on the road. 

According to the post, Ms Shreya’s nightmare began when she noticed she had forgotten to bring her headphones after her trip with Lyft had just started. She hurriedly recovered her headphones after requesting the driver to return to her home and wait. However, upon her return, she discovered that the driver cancelled the ride and her luggage was gone. This sudden cancellation of the ride meant that the student was left without access to the vehicle information and wasn’t able to immediately track down her belongings. 

Ms Shreya shared her nightmarish situation on LinkedIn. She even shared screenshots of the conversations she had with Lyft customer service. 

“Yesterday, at 6 PM, I booked a ride to Boston airport. Shockingly, after loading my luggage, the driver abruptly canceled, leaving with all my belongings, including my passport, VISA, OPT/EAD Card, and vital document, electronics, resulting in a devastating loss of $30,000,” Ms Shreya wrote, adding, “I have been actively seeking assistance from Lyft customer service, but unfortunately, crucial driver details remain elusive, compounding the challenges I am already facing”. 

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Further, the student revealed that despite active engagement with the Cambridge Police Department and The Corporation of the City of Cambridge, lack of pertinent information is hindering progress. “The mandated legal procedures, involving subpoenas, court orders, and search warrants, are proving to be time-consuming and emotionally taxing,” she added. 

Ms Shreya shared her experience almost a week back, and since it has gone viral online. It prompted the official LinkedIn profile of Lyft to respond to the post. “Hi Shreya, thank you for ongoing support as we work to resolve this. We’re in contact with the driver and working swiftly to get this solved,” the company commented. 

Lyft CEO David Risher also reacted to Ms Shreya’s unfortunate incident. “Very sorry you’re going through this, Shreya. That’s absolutely awful. Our team is on it,” Mr Risher said. 

This unfortunate incident, however, has prevented Ms Shreya from reuniting with her family in India, especially at a time when her father is battling cancer. While the cops are still probing the incident, she is yet to receive some good news on the matter.