A student abandoned by his Blablacar on a rest area between Montpellier and Toulouse
Orange with 6Medias, published on saturday 07 january 2023 at 09h27
A 20-year-old student spent the night on the Narbonne-Vinassan motorway rest area on the A9 after being abandoned by the driver of his carpool. The trip had to link Montpellier and Toulouse. Blablacar then came to his aid.
A carpool that ended rather badly for Briccio, a 20-year-old student. The driver of the Blablacar that the young man had taken abandoned him on the A9 motorway rest area in Narbonne-Vinassan (Aude), Monday January 2, reports L’Indépendant. The initial journey was to transport the student from Montpellier (Hérault) to Toulouse (Haute-Garonne). When he made his reservation, the Blablacar application offered Briccio carpooling with a driver named Nathan, who received a good rating on the platform. Unsuspecting, the student quickly reserved a place and set off for Montpellier. “The driver was rated 4.9/5, he explains. There were about thirty comments that were correct. I usually trust reviews“, explains the young man. The journey is made with another person in the vehicle.
Carpooling will take another turn for Briccio when the driver decides to take a break after an hour and a half of travel. “Around 6 p.m., we arrived at the Narbonne-Vinassan motorway rest area, he adds. I needed to go to the toilet“, unfolds Briccio. On his return, a bad surprise awaits him: the vehicle is no longer there. The young man then looks in the parking lot, thinking that the driver has changed places, he tries to call him but does not ‘get no response.
Arrival 24 hours late
Briccio then waits for half an hour and then resolves to a problematic observation: the driver has indeed left without him. It is 6:30 p.m. when the student starts looking for help. Faced with an emergency situation, he finds a convenience store to make calls and to try to find a solution. “With the convenience store staff we tried to call taxis or Ubers, but they weren’t available. I tried to warn Blablacar and hitchhike, but without success. Finally, I spent the night in the convenience store on the motorway rest area“, deplores the young man.
The carpooling platform will take a long time to respond to Briccio: it is only on Tuesday January 3 at 11 a.m. that he will manage to get in touch with customer service. However, the journey is not over since if a taxi is sent to him to reach Narbonne, he still has to find a solution to get to Toulouse then Albi (Tarn), destination where Briccio was to go. “They sent me a taxi. It allowed me to go to Narbonne station. From there, I boarded a train to go to Toulouse. I took another to go to Albi where I had to go the day before. I finally arrived home, but 24 hours late. I tried to contact the driver again, but I got no response, he leaves me in sight“, regrets Briccio.
After the incident, Blablacar justified itself by stating that “these are very rare cases, which are treated on a case-by-case basis to provide the most appropriate and humane solution.“The platform also ensures that”when his messages (those of Briccio) were reported, (the) priority was to contact him to provide assistance and organize the end of his trip by taxi and train. His travel and additional expenses will be reimbursed“. No sanction has yet been taken against the driver, the platform is waiting to shed light on the required circumstances of the incident before making a decision.