An immigrant Uber driver has demanded a female passenger pay an extra $5 fee for him to turn on the air-conditioning during a trip from Perth Airport.
Hockey player Lexie Pickering, 24, shared a video of her experience on TikTok, which showed the car decked out with Buddhist prayer flags, sparking outrage in the comment section and a refund offer from Uber.
She did not reveal where the driver was from, writing in the caption: “Not here for racism or guessing nationality – keep it about the situation only.”
@lexie_pickeringHe is suffering with me (Not here for racism or guessing nationality — keep it about the situation only 🤍)♬ original sound – lex
“As we started driving, he said I needed to pay $5 if I wanted aircon,” she told news.com.au.
“I was a bit taken aback and laughed and said no, and then he said to me, ‘it’s really hot today’, and I agreed, but said there’s no way I’m paying more for aircon.”
She had already paid $50 for the trip, and told the driver about travelling to play competitive hockey in Hobart, only for him to use it against her.
“He then insisted I would have money as I played a high level of hockey, insinuating I should be able to pay him more,” she said.
Uber responded to the video by giving Ms Pickering a full refund, and saying they were looking into the situation.
“We are shocked by this and apologise to the rider for her experience. We are actively investigating the matter,” a spokesperson said.
“Fraudulent activity such as driver-partners encouraging riders to pay for any part of their trip outside of the Uber platform is a breach of Uber’s Community Guidelines, and this kind of behaviour can result in driver-partners permanently losing access to the app.
“Passengers should not be asked to pay extra for standard aspects of a trip, including air conditioning. We encourage all riders to reach out to our 24/7 customer support team if they encounter any issues on a trip, where we will work closely to investigate and take appropriate action.”
Header image: Left, Ms Pickering in the car. Right, the driver’s dashboard (TikTok).
