'Verbally abusive' Uber driver incident prompts industry body warning
• May 8, 2024
Uber driver after cancelling the ride of a passenger and her son. PHOTO: RHIANAH KING
An East Auckland woman is "scared" after her Uber driver cancelled her trip, saying he yelled at her and her son.
Her experience and other incidents has prompted a warning for better regulations from a leading industry body.
The Small Passenger Service Association (SPSA) says legislation is needed to prevent drivers posing a danger to passengers in the rideshare industry.
“It always used to be that the driver was very vulnerable, but it’s more dangerous for passengers than drivers now," said Warren Quirke, executive director of SPSA which promotes professionalism and passenger safety with its driver members.
Rhianah King was with her child when she requested an Uber on the evening of April 17 from outside a Botany sushi outlet.
But when the driver arrived he said he could only take one person due to an Uber pool policy.
King says that she pleaded with the driver as she couldn’t order another Uber, but the driver started abusing and yelling at her and her son.
She complained to Uber but feeling it was disregarded, posted about it on social media.
But this led to her Uber account being suspended and her having to take down the Facebook post after the driver reported her to Uber.
Uber was asked to respond to King's experience but did not, instead referring only to their community guidelines, that state, passengers cannot post a photo or a recording of a driver on social media.
“I’m worried about this happening again and I’m scared I will somehow be matched with the same driver,” said King.
She wants more drivers to be “compassionate and empathetic” with their passengers and “not only think about money”.
Quirke says the current state of ridesharing companies shows they’ve “walked away” from a safe industry, he says.
There needs to be regulation and oversight on rideshare drivers as if legislative changes aren’t made, they will continue to pose a danger to passengers.
“You want to have it to the point it’s not compromising safety and it’s not giving drivers the opportunity to take advantage of passengers”.
Quirke wants more drivers to understand their obligations to protect passengers as passengers shouldn’t doubt the safety of the driver.
Customers can choose to ride safer with SPSA association members, who display the logo, these by browsing and comparing services on its website's directory, from luxury taxis to budget passenger services.
