Woman Says Uber Driver Canceled Her Ride While She Was Still in the Car

A 22-year-old Chicago woman is urging rideshare passengers to pay attention if a trip starts to feel wrong. She says her Uber driver canceled the ride in the app while she and a friend were still inside the car.

Elyse Madrid said they requested a ride around 2:30 a.m. on a Saturday, traveling from the Belmont Cragin neighborhood to a karaoke bar. During the trip, she noticed the car seemed to be going in the wrong direction. Then, she said, the driver canceled the ride through the app.

Madrid confronted him. She said he blamed the cancellation on phone problems and at one point told her that his sister had canceled the trip. Madrid asked him to pull over, and she and her friend got out on Randolph Street near the Kennedy Expressway.

“When we got out the car, he sped off like in a panic,” Madrid said. She estimated he drove away at 40 to 50 mph. She later filed a police report.

The experience was especially upsetting, Madrid said, because she had been assaulted in a cab the previous August.

Uber said it had removed the driver’s access to its platform while it investigates. “What has been reported is deeply distressing,” a company spokesperson said, adding that Uber had contacted police and would assist with their investigation.

Dillon Abend, founder and CEO of rideshare safety app 3rd-i, said passengers should speak up when something feels unusual. If a driver cancels a trip while a passenger is still in the car, Abend advised staying calm, asking what happened and clearly saying where they want to be dropped off.

If the driver refuses or the passenger feels in immediate danger, Abend said to call 911 and contact someone trusted. He also recommended sharing a live location and checking the driver, car and license plate against the details in the app before getting in.

A sudden change in route may be another reason to pay attention. Abend said passengers can check a separate mapping app to see whether they are still heading toward their destination.

The report follows another recent incident in which a woman said her late-night Uber driver wanted to stop at a parking garage to charge his electric car, then missed an exit. She ended the ride and contacted police. Uber said it investigated and took appropriate action.