SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (KRON) – An Uber driver with close to 6,000 rides under his belt and an excellent rating with the ride-sharing company is now thinking about never picking up another passenger.
That is because of a recent altercation that happened after picking up 3-passengers in San Francisco.
It is a video of a wild altercation during an Uber ride that has gone viral.
“Yeah it was something I could have never imagined,” the Uber driver said.
That is the voice of the man behind the wheel in the video, whom wishes not to reveal his identity.
He told me by phone that this happened Sunday afternoon shortly after he picked up three female passengers at San Bruno Avenue and Felton Street in San Francisco’s Bayview District.
He says after they got in the car things started going wrong when the subject of wearing a mask came up.
“The moment I asked for the mask, they asked me if I have a spare one. To which I replied I don’t have it and then the lady on the video who pulled the mask on, tried to snatch my phone, she started all this. She started cursing me for not having a mask,” he said.
In the video, you see at one point the same passenger he is describing coughed near his face.
“It was all happening so fast. I just wanted to get over with it,” the driver said.
He says the tumultuous ride lasted around ten minutes.
The women decided to get out of his car at San Bruno and Silver Avenue but not before spraying something in his vehicle to remember them by.
“One lady in red pepper-sprayed probably for 3 or 4 seconds,” he said. “Yeah that was definitely pepper spray. I know! Then I realized this is too much, I need to contact police.”
San Francisco police confirm receiving the report and told me their robbery division is investigating the incident.
KRON4 reached out to Uber for a statement but no reply.
The incident has caused the driver to have second thoughts about continuing his relationship with the ride-sharing service.
“I’m not really sure with continuing with Uber or doing another job or anything like that,” he said.
Shortly after the incident, Lyft tweeted that they would be banning the rider who refused to wear her mask permanently.
“Although this incident did not involve the Lyft platform, the unacceptable treatment of the driver in this video compelled us to permanently remove the rider from the Lyft community. Driving in a pandemic is not easy. Please wear a mask, respect one another, and be a good person,” the ride-hailing service said.