Uber sacks driver after passenger records vile homophobic rant

An Uber driver has been removed from the rideshare service after he was recorded hurling homophobic comments at an Australian couple on Saturday.

Lucy Thomas, the CEO of anti-bullying organisation PROJECT ROCKIT, was in an Uber in Melbourne with her girlfriend Chelsea Lang when their driver called them "faggots" after he realised they were in a relationship.

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"We'd been out for dinner with friends and jumped in an Uber," she told Mashable Australia. They tried to make small talk and told their driver they were going to be watching a football game.

"He said 'I hate football, it's for a bunch of faggots who go around touching each other.'" she said. "His tone was really cheery, but when he paused, I said 'listen, I understand the spirit of what you're saying, but for me and others in my generation, that word is totally offensive.'"

His tone changed — he wasn't jovial any more and asked the pair whether they were together. When Lang said yes, he became aggressive and threatening, she said.

Thomas was worried they wouldn't have any evidence of what had happened, so she pulled out her phone and recorded his rant, which she posted on Twitter Monday. 

"What, are you going to give me a one rating and make a complaint?" he taunts in the clip. He also threatens to drag them from his car if they do not get out.

Warning: the following recording contains offensive language.

After she reported the incident, Thomas said Uber gave her a call immediately. While the Uber employee was very empathetic and helpful, she was disappointed when they said she wouldn't be able to find out if the driver had faced disciplinary action for the sake of his privacy.

"It seems to be trying to obscure the process, rather than for his privacy," she said.

By early afternoon Monday, however, she was advised by media that Uber had removed the driver from the platform.

"Uber does not tolerate any form of discrimination, and we have been in contact [with] this rider to offer our support," a company spokesperson told Mashable Australia. "As soon as we were made aware of this incident, we removed the driver from the platform."

Thomas said she had been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support online since she shared the story. Both she and Lang are youth workers, and decided to post the incident online, not because they thought people would pay attention, but because they believe in encouraging others to speak up.

Thomas added that internal process at companies like Uber should encourage users to voice their concerns if they're made to feel uncomfortable or at risk. She wished that Uber had been more transparent about how the driver would be disciplined. 

"I think it would be healthy to see better screening around [drivers'] attitudes to diversity," she added. "Best case scenario, it could be a good learning experience. We're in a rapidly growing world, and maybe this is one of those hiccups along the way. I'm glad it happened to me and not somebody else."

According to Uber's code of conduct, they have a "zero-tolerance policy" toward harassment and abuse. Drivers found to have discriminated against people for sexual orientation, among other reasons, will be removed from Uber's platform.

Uber has been criticised for how it vets drivers, however, particularly in the U.S. In April, the company settled a lawsuit for around $10 million (A$14 million) in California that alleged it had it mislead passengers about the quality of its driver background checks.

Despite what happened, Thomas said she would use Uber again. "I don't think Chelsea nor I would expect an apology [from the company] — in all industries, there are going to be loose cannons.

"I think this is more complex than that."

UPDATE: June 6, 2016, 3:18 p.m. AEST Added comment from Lucy Thomas.