Many of us have often heard cab drivers complaining about different cab companies. Be it for charging high concession fees or making difficult rules, drivers have no option but to rant about such issues. Not just in India but this seems to be a problem faced in different parts of the world too. In a recent incident, Bill Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square, slammed Uber stating how it is “ripping off NYC cab drivers” and wrote to the CEO too.
Uber Drivers Are Not Having A Good Experience, Shared Bill Ackman
Taking to the X platform, the American hedge fund manager shared his conversation with an Uber driver and what happened later.
I took an @Uber today and for the first time was offered a NYC yellow cab. I thought good for Uber supporting the cabbies. I asked the driver about his experience with Uber and he surprised me by saying it was bad.
He explained that even when the passenger agreed to pay a tip… pic.twitter.com/jbBoWbYJvh
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) May 23, 2024
It was a few days back when Bill Ackman took an Uber to visit somewhere. Interestingly, he got a “NYC yellow cab” for the first time on that day. The US billionaire thought it was a good idea for Uber to support the cabbies in the city. Soon, his thoughts and reactions changed.
During his journey in this cab, he had a conversation with the driver and was quite surprised to hear the reality. The CEO asked the cab driver about his experience of working with Uber and was shocked to hear that it was a bad experience. But why are the drivers not satisfied to work at such a well-known company?
The cabbie explained to Bill Ackman that Uber keeps the tip that passengers offer to all the drivers. They do not receive any tip and “Uber kept the tip for itself”, he further added. Initially, Mr. Ackman found it impossible to believe it. On listening to this, the driver asked him to do a test. After the ride, the CEO added a tip of $5. Well, the driver was right and the screen clearly showed nothing indicating any tip.
Later, The US Billionaire Texted Uber CEO
Bill Ackman stated that Uber is “increasing its margins and profits in NYC by ripping off NYC cab drivers”. Seeing all these horrible things happening with cab drivers daily, he made an effort to directly text Dara Khosrowshahi, the CEO of Uber and added a photo of the driver’s screen too. Well, Mr. Khosrowshahi did not reply. “I can only assume that Dara is unaware of this”, said Bill Ackman. He demanded Uber not only return the stolen funds but also provide interest to all the drivers where the company is following a similar procedure.
Hi Bill – we’re stepping in for @dkhos who’s on a business trip. We pass 100% of the tip to Curb (our taxi partner), and they are required to pass the tip to the driver, usually within a day or so.
The tip isn’t showing on this screen because passengers tip after the trip ends,…
— Uber Comms (@Uber_Comms) May 23, 2024
Uber Comms (@Uber_Comms) replied to Mr. Ackman’s accusation that the Uber CEO was out on a business trip. The response stated that the company passes 100 per cent of the tip to the drivers. Uber Comms added that the tip was not displaying on the screens as passengers pay tips after the journey and “this screen doesn’t refresh”.
What do you think about this surprising incident?
Cover Image Courtesy: Canva, Bill Ackman (@BillAckman)
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