Racist Lyft Driver? Interracial Couple Wants the Driver to Face Consequences

This might sound like a weird question to ask, after all, racism is a personal opinion, and a percentage of society is racist. However, you would expect that a rideshare driver in Seattle would not be a racist, and if they are, they will keep their opinions to themselves.

Screenshot-2018-3-24 Couple Lyft driver made racist remarks - YouTube

According to one couple, an experience they recently underwent with Lyft proves that racism is still rampant in Seattle.

A loving couple shared the experience Alex Dugdale and Kylie Steinbach, who claim that they underwent a humiliating experience in the hands of a Lyft driver on St. Patrick's Day. The couple booked a Lyft ride to take them from Lake City to Shoreline. After being picked up, and according to the couple, they complimented the driver on his car and the fact that he had mints and candy ready for his passengers. On the way to their destination, Alex asked the driver to stop off at a 7-Eleven, and that is when the ride ended.

According to the Dugdale, the driver said "You know what, you guys can get out of here. I am canceling your ride. Get out of my car."

As Dugdale exited the car, walking around to open the door for Steinbach, he heard her ask the driver why he canceled the ride? According to Steinbach, the driver turned his dash cam around to face them, which was probably to collect a recording of the incident, although she had no idea why he would want to do that.

Dugdale considered the situation and said, "He might not like mixed-race couples." Which, was corroborated by the driver when the couple was walking away, and he shouted after them, using the "n" word. Dugdale added "He said that word. He said the n-word, and because of that it took it to a whole other level of harassment."

According to Steinbach, they contacted Lyft and filed a formal complaint, Lyft's first response according to Steinbach was "He didn't bother asking what the altercation was. He just said, okay, we won't pair you with this driver again." However, Lyft returned later through e-mail and a phone call to the couple stating that the incident was undergoing a full investigation. The couple also filed a formal complaint with police, and also demanded from Lyft that they deactivate the driver.

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A Lyft spokesperson told the media that "These allegations are extremely concerning - this type of behavior would constitute a violation of Lyft's anti-discrimination policy, which can result in permanent deactivation from the Lyft platform. We absolutely do not tolerate any form of discrimination and are committed to maintaining an inclusive and welcoming community. We have reached out to the driver and passenger. Both parties are alleging inappropriate behavior, and we are continuing to investigate this incident. We stand ready to assist law enforcement in their investigation."

The driver stated in his defense that the couple was misbehaving during the ride, but Dugdale refuted driver’s claim and stated “That is completely false. The driver is wrong. We did nothing wrong or inappropriate.”