Woman Claims Uber Driver Refused Her After Learning Destination

A user on TikTok sparked a debate after claiming that the driver refused a ride after learning her destination.

In a video with more than 215,000 views, TikTok user Meredith (@meredith_hayden) claims to have booked a flight from New Jersey to New York City, a relatively short trip given the proximity of the two states.

However, as soon as she got into the car, the driver informed her that she could not accept her order. According to Meredith, the same thing has happened to many of her friends.

“Uber, why don’t we tell these drivers where they are going before?” Meredith asks. “Shouldn’t that be part of the decision process as to whether or not they want to accept the drive?”

@employee

Uber what gives

♬ original sound – mere

Earlier this year, Uber announced that drivers would be allowed to see their destination before accepting a fare, according to CNBC.

However, the actual rollout of this program appears to be at a slow pace. A thread posted on Reddit last month asks Meredith’s own question, with the general response in the comments claiming that no, drivers can’t see destinations before accepting unless they’re in certain markets.

“If your marketplace is ‘upfront’ to the driver, they can see where you’re going and reward,” said user DCHacker. “If your market doesn’t have a driver ‘advance’, they should be notified ‘Long Ride 45+’ when the app offers them the ride. Again, Smart Driver backs off automatically. Unfortunately, that notification isn’t always there.”

DCHacker’s claim is backed up with information from Uber itself, which claims the feature will be coming to more drivers “soon.”

In Meredith’s specific case, the driver was most likely unable to accept the drive because the destination had placed it in a different state. Several commentators have pointed this out.

“Yeah it happens because NJ Uber drivers can’t legally pick up rides in NYC so it’s a waste of time/dollar for them, which I recently learned the hard way,” said one commenter.

This is correct.

“Uber drivers can only operate and pick up passengers in areas they have been designated and approved by. This has to do with how each locality has different laws and regulations. You make a request to drive in a specific area, and that specific area is approved,” the Uber driver writes on Twitter. rideguru. “To be clear, it is important to note that you can only pick up in your area, but you can drop off outside your area anywhere. This means that you can leave your area with a passenger but not pick them up on the way home.”

In New York City, for example, drivers are required to “obtain a New York Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) driver’s license for themselves; the vehicle they are driving must be TLC-licensed as a rental car; drivers must comply with all TLC license requirements” before That they can pick up passengers in the area, according to the Uber website.

Other commenters explained other reasons for refusing a driver based on the destination.

“I think they are trying to stop drivers from choosing rides,” one user was offered. “If drivers see you’re going too far, you may never get a ride.”

“Yeah, it obviously discourages drivers from canceling trips to areas they might not prefer. Mainly to balance supply and demand,” he claimed again.

The Daily Dot reached out to Uber and Meredith via email.