Woman says Uber driver took her back home after she asked for music to be turned down
‘Wow... quite the overreaction on his part,’ said one TikTok user
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A woman says her Uber driver took her back home after she asked him to turn down his music.
In a viral TikTok video, user Marleville (@marleville) explained how she ordered an early morning pickup on Uber so that she could get to the airport on time. She reportedly requested a “quiet trip,” referring to an option called “quiet mode” that asks for a ride “without any music or conversation” from the driver, according to Uber’s website.
However, when the driver arrived to pick her up, she said that he was noticeably blaring loud music. As they were driving to her destination, she politely asked him if he could turn the music down, but he only turned it down “one click” of the volume dial.
After ten minutes of enduring the loud music, she asked him again to turn it down, but instead of acquiescing to her request, he decided to take her back home.
“He said, ‘I’m just going to take you home,’ and turned all the way back around,” Marleville told viewers. In a follow-up video, Marleville added the driver asked her for her home address, “I had to give him my address, which is now a safety concern for me.”
Ultimately, she was able to find another driver but had to arrange for a different flight. At the end of the day, her number one priority was her safety amid the driver’s strange reaction. “I was confused & honestly concerned bc his reaction was so disproportionate,” she wrote in a comment. “[I] called my mom to stay on w/me to make sure I was safe.”
“I try to keep things in perspective,” she continued. “I was confused but not angry. Luckily I had other options available to me. I hope he was kinder to his next rider.”
Since posting the video on TikTok, it has garnered 331,000 views on the platform, with many viewers taking to the video’s comment section to share their support for Marleville. One user wrote, “Wow... quite the overreaction on his part.”
“As a former Uber driver, I’m shocked! I’m so sorry that happened to you,” one person wrote, while another added: “He’s providing a service for a PAYING CUSTOMER. He should have turned it down. Period.”
“There’s a QUIET RIDE selection for a reason,” someone else commented. “Who Ubers in the morning and then gets upset that someone doesn’t want music, let alone BLASTING loud?”
In the days since posting the video, Marleville told the Daily Dot that she’s had minimal contact with the ride-sharing company over her experience.
“I spoke with them to ask them how to set my account so I don’t match with him again. But we didn’t talk about a refund. They just confirmed we wouldn’t match again,” she told the outlet. “I was refunded the $15+ dollars from the app. That was the extent of our contact.”
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments