Uber driver in London accused of homophobia

A gay couple have claimed that they were asked to get out of an Uber taxi because because of a driver's objections to their kissing.

Corey Watts and Jordan Sloat told ITV News that they were kissing in the back of an Uber taxi at about 8pm on new year's eve, when the taxi stopped and the driver asked them to get out.

“We were kissing and cuddled next to each other when a minute or two after picking us up he pulled over and told us to get out,” Mr Sloat told ITV News.

After asking the driver why they were being ejected, the driver reportedly said that he often picked up gay couples, but that “they don’t normally do this” referring to the couple’s kissing. The couple told ITV News they were shocked as they’d never experienced homophobia in London before.

Uber has removed the driver from the Uber platform and is investigating the incident. An Uber spokesperson told ITV News: “Uber does not tolerate any form of discrimination either by our partner drivers or towards our partner drivers.”

Uber already came under criticism in the last fews day for its “surge pricing” policy, where customers are charged more for trips during peak demand times, such as New Year’s Eve. Twitter saw ‘Uber rage’ spread from San Francisco to New York on the last night of the year, as people were charged hundreds of dollars for short trips.