When a pregnant New York woman in labor and her spouse hailed an Uber in order to go to the hospital, the driver refused to take them, according to her husband.
According to a new report from Fortune, the driver not only declined the woman a ride to the hospital because he feared she would throw up in his car, but even charged the couple $13 for the time spent arguing over the ride.
The woman and her spouse, along with their birthing coach, managed to hail another Uber ride and made it to the hospital safely. But husband David Lee said the car-hailing company wasn’t helpful later when he tried to figure out the name of the driver who abandoned them. The company refused to disclose the full name of the driver due to privacy policies, according to Lee, even though he later found the full name on his email receipt.
When contacted about the incident by Fortune, Uber once again cited its privacy policy, saying it will not discuss individual driver incidents, but did issue a statement calling any refusal to transport a woman in labor “unacceptable.”
“It goes against our code of conduct and the standard of service our riders rely on,” the company told Fortune. “We extend our deepest apologies to both riders and have taken action to respond to this complaint. We are glad that the rider’s next driver was professional and courteous.”
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