Uber Customer Says Her Driver Was Arrested Mid-Ride
There are certain things one expects from hailing a ride through Uber. The wonder of watching a little car icon move towards you on your smartphone screen, some idle chit chat, paying without pulling out a credit card. Watching a plain clothes officer rip open the door to arrest your driver is not one of them.
So naturally New Orleans resident Hannah Jegart was caught by surprise when she found herself left in the rain on the streets of New York this afternoon:
@hannahjegart That's definitely not right. Please reply to the trip receipt and we'll get this straightened out for you.
— Uber NYC (@Uber_NYC) April 30, 2014
@dudehugs @rare_basement lol i can't even.
— h a n n a h (@hannahjegart) April 30, 2014
@rare_basement @dudehugs dude in plain clothes rips doors open, throws car in park, tow truck & cop car pull up, i'm left in rain like uhhhh
— h a n n a h (@hannahjegart) April 30, 2014
An Uber representative responded swiftly and Jegart has already outlined fair restitution from the $3.5 billion company:
@rare_basement @dudehugs for reaaaaaal tho. i want uber credits 4 lyfe
— h a n n a h (@hannahjegart) April 30, 2014
I have reached out to both Uber and Jegart about whether this was an UberX driver and how often this type of event occurs. I will update the post when I hear back. But according to the bounce-back email, Andrew Noyes, the exceedingly competent Facebook veteran who went on to serve as Uber's head of corporate communications, has "moved on" from the company after 11 months on the job. Uber is currently searching for his replacement.
Update: Jegart told Valleywag she was taking an Uber X, but wasn't sure why the driver was arrested:
Thanks for reaching out and I appreciate your concern, but I can't say I
stuck around to find out any details. Uber kindly refunded both that ride
and my following ride (for the inconvenience) within an hour or so.
To contact the author of this post, please email nitasha@gawker.com.