This is not the first incident to happen in London regarding abusive Uber drivers. Pic: Ginger Jefferies
She was out with a friend in east Croydon last Saturday night and needed a cab to take her home. So she tried the Uber transport app for the very first time.
Now 27-year-old mother and paramedic Taleka White has accused her Uber driver of assault and racial abuse after her late-night cab journey turned to tears.
“I’d never used Uber before so [my friend] called for one on her phone. She wasn’t sure how to say that we wanted to be dropped off at different addresses, so we thought we’d explain it to the driver,” said White.
The driver then proceeded to drop off White’s friend, but “became angry” after a misunderstanding about the address. As the car neared her friend’s address, White claims the driver yelled “get out of my fucking cab.”
Once the driver dropped off White’s friend, White said he started to abuse her verbally. When they reached the address and she began to collect her things, White claimed he got out of the car, pulled her out of the car by her arm, dragged her to the ground and punched her in the face.
“I put my hands up and screamed to get my mum’s attention but he punched me again. I went flying down the road and landed on my face. He ran into his car and drove off,” she said.
After her mother found her on the pavement, White was rushed to A&E and immediately contacted the police.
“I have to take time off work – he’s aggravated an injury I had to my fingers and I can’t work or get paid until they are better,” she said. She will still need to return to hospital for an x-ray of her hand.
Assult by #Uber driver pic.twitter.com/7SILa8sKaG
— taleka (@talekawhite) November 29, 2015
Tweet Pic: Her face all red from the punch
Punched in my face by #uber driver pic.twitter.com/BUaqSBPASq
— taleka (@talekawhite) November 29, 2015
Representatives from Uber and the London Taxi and Private Hire, the authority in charge of licensing drivers and owners of taxis and private hire vehicles who operate in London, have said the driver has been suspended. They have told White they can’t comment further on a pending investigation.
An Uber spokesperson added: “Safety of both riders and partner-drivers alike is our number one priority, and we will fully co-operate with the relevant authorities during their investigation. If serious incidents are reported it is our policy to suspend the partner-driver while we investigate.”
A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “No arrests have been made. Inquiries are ongoing.”
This is not the first incident to happen in London regarding abusive Uber drivers. In July last year a London university lecturer was threatened with having her “neck cut off” after she cancelled her Uber ride.
