Uber doesn’t do anything about young female riders being harassed

I am so angry with the way Uber “handled” a situation with my 15 year old god daughter.

This morning, she was repeatedly harassed and made to feel unsafe by an Uber driver who wouldn’t accept the fact that as a black girl she wanted to speak English not Zulu to him. This intelligent girl speaks 3 languages fluently but chooses to speak English because it is the most common language. He race-shamed her for living in a decent neighborhood and being able to afford to use Uber to get to school (it’s sponsored because we thought It would be the safest way to get her to and from school). He then threatened to kick her out of his car if she didn’t speak to him in Zulu. ***?

When reported to Uber, they said they would investigate the incident. They then pulled the old bait and switch and said they were cancelling her account because she wasn’t 18 (granted that’s in the Ts & Cs). To me it feels like they were passing the buck for this completely unacceptable behavior by focusing on the fact that she wasn’t 18. Perhaps this is how they cover themselves should a female client under 18 get attacked? Do women under 18 not deserve their protection? This is totally unacceptable! All she wanted to do was get to school on time but then had to put up with this abuse from the driver and later the company that hires him when she reports it? So much for being about safety and helping female clients, regardless of age!! With the current situation in SA relating to gender based violence, do you think this is acceptable?

By the way, the Ts & Cs also say that they will ask you age when you register an account to make sure you’re 18... this is not true (we’ve just tested it). And half the learners at her school (and I think most of Joburg) use Uber to get to and from school!

And no response from Uber yet on other platforms