Uber is supposed to be convenient for everyone, but its female passengers consistently get a raw deal. One woman reported a driver who ran her over for talking on her phone; another had one threaten to cut her after she canceled a ride; and a third driver touched himself while his passenger tried to get away. Now a California woman reports that her driver cursed her out and threatened to rape and kill her, says Cosmopolitan.
Eve Batey used her phone to call an UberPool around 10 p.m. on Thursday night. She manually entered the pickup address, but minutes later received a call from her Uber driver: "I am here, where are you?" he said. "I'm at 400 Duboce," she said. "No you're not," he insisted. "I am at 400 Duboce Avenue and you are not there. Where the fuck are you? What kind of person isn't there when they call an Uber?"
After that encounter Batey decided to cancel the ride, which she told the driver. She then hung up and canceled, but the driver wasn't finished. He pulled up alongside her and called her again:
"How about I stick my dick in your pussy?" the driver screams. "I see you there, look at me, I see you there on your phone."
She hung up, but he called again:
"CANCEL THE RIDE!" he screams. "I did!" I say. "You fucking bitch, I'm going to find you, rape you, and kill you" he responds. "I'm calling the police," I say.
Batey did call the police who stayed on the phone with her as the driver drove past again, this time mouthing something through the car's closed window. He called twice more after that, once leaving a voicemail that she recorded.
Two police officers arrived at the scene and opened a case for Batey. She was also charged Uber's $5 cancelation fee, but the company refunded the fee after she sent them an email explaining what had happened. According to her post on SFist, both a representative from Uber's safety department and Uber's head of communications called her after the incident (after Batey's post went viral, they didn't have much choice). Batey's story is horrifying, and although it doesn't represent every Uber driver (far from it), does highlight a disturbing trend.
