Uber Passenger: Driver Stranded Her Halfway Through 150-Mile Trip Home From Hospital Image courtesy of Uber
An Arizona woman says she was left stranded at a gas station in the desert on Christmas when her Uber driver decided he didn’t want to continue the second half of the 150-mile trip.
The Lake Havasu woman had just been released from a Las Vegas hospital on Christmas Day and hailed an Uber to drive her the 150 miles home, because her husband was busy caring for her elderly mother and 11-year-old son and unable to pick her up, reports KSNV.
“Just seemed like the logical thing. I could lay down and someone else would drive,” she told the news station. She says she fell asleep in the backseat and woke up at a gas station in Palm Gardens, NV, about halfway between the two cities. She said that after arguing with her driver, he said she’d either have to go back to Las Vegas or get out of the car and call someone else to pick her up.
“He said, ‘I am not going to take you further. If my phone doesn’t work, I am not getting paid,'” she recalls.
Due to a lack of cell service on her phone, however, she wasn’t able to hail another ride, and went into the gas station to seek help. A worker helped her out until her husband picked her up a few hours later.
Uber says distance and location are something the driver and rider agree on, and that the company is currently reviewing the situation.
“We are saddened to have learned the details described about this rider’s experience as she attempted to travel home to be with her family for the holidays,” a spokesperson told KSNV. “Riders who use Uber expect reliable, high-quality service from their drivers. We’re disappointed when an experience does not meet that standard, and we’re working to resolve it.”
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