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- An Uber driver in London accepted a ride, then later refused to pick up his passengers when he saw they were two Jewish men.
- Sam Adler and his business partner, who were both wearing yarmulkes, told UK newspaper The Jewish Chronicle the driver saw them, said: "I don’t take Jews," then canceled the ride.
- Uber has since barred the driver from its platform, telling Business Insider in a statement that the episode was "totally unacceptable."
- The company declined to provide monetary compensation to Adler, saying it didn’t want to put "an arbitrary monetary value on the situation."
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Uber banned a driver in London from its app after he canceled a ride on two Jewish men, saying "I don’t take Jews."
The driver, identified as "Ahmad" on the app, had been booked to drive Sam Adler and his business partner in Wembley, northwest London, last Monday, UK newspaper The Jewish Chronicle (JC) first reported.
Ahmad drove past the two men while carrying another passenger, and initially told them that he would return after dropping them offer, Adler told the JC.
But when Ahmad saw that the two men were wearing yarmulkes — brimless skullcaps, also known as kippahs, typically worn by orthodox male Jews — he "turned around, and as he drove past us, said: ‘I don’t take Jews.’"
"Then he hightailed it, just pegged it," Adler said. The driver then canceled his booking on the app, the JC reported.
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Uber has since barred Ahmad from using the app as a driver, describing the situation as "totally unacceptable" in a statement to Business Insider.
An Uber spokeswoman said the company had "been in contact with this rider to offer our support." As soon as the firm learns about "these situations," she added, "we remove a driver’s access from the app, and in London report them to the Metropolitan Police."
She did not say whether Ahmad was temporarily or indefinitely barred from the platform.
The company declined to provide Adler with any compensation, according to the JC, telling him: "We would never want to minimize an experience like you describe by putting an arbitrary monetary value on the situation."
Because Ahmad canceled the Adler’s trip in advance, it is unlikely that Adler paid a fare or booking fee for the ride.
The company says in its community guidelines that it has a "zero tolerance policy towards discrimination of any kind," including "race, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, gender identity, age or any other characteristic protected under applicable law."
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Source: Business Insider – ama@businessinsider.com (Alexandra Ma)