My Uber Driver Was a Bigot
And Uber did nothing about it
A few years ago, I got into an Uber when I was traveling alone. The driver was blasting punk rock music, and I, a twentysomething who never wanted to rock the boat, said nothing. It took me a minute to realize that he was stoned.
After several minutes of erratic driving toward my Airbnb, the driver looked back at me. “Wanna go get WENDY’S?” he asked.
I declined. I made it home in one piece. I rated him one star.
This is not that story.
This is the story of a driver who shared his bigoted, misogynistic views with me over the course of a 40-minute Uber ride. Who made me feel uncomfortable and unsafe. And whose behavior, Uber decided, warranted nothing more than a $5 credit to my account.
The driver seemed friendly enough at first. But about 15 minutes into the ride, when we were crossing a bridge, he turned to me, taking his eyes off the road. “I don’t think women are fit to be president,” he said.
I stared at him. I didn’t respond.
“Do you?” he asked.
“Yes,” I said. “But I’d rather not discuss this.”
“All of my passengers are voting for Trump,” he said. “All of my friends.”
