Driver's Homophobic Rant Costs Portland Taxi Company Its Uber Affiliation

Portland, Ore. - According to KATU News, on September 20, a Portland Taxi Company cab driver pulled up outside of Scandals, a gay bar, and began shouting homophobic slurs to patrons outside with a bullhorn. When questioned by a KATU News reporter about the driver's behavior, the Portland Taxi Company replied, "If the gays don’t want to use our company, that’s better for us.” 

This week, however, Uber, the popular ride-sharing service that had a relationship with several local livery companies through its Uber Taxi service, has severed ties with Portland Taxi Company.

Uber spokesman, Jon Issacs had this to say: "Uber strongly believes in non-discrimination, diversity, and inclusion. The actions of a Portland Taxi Company driver and the stated beliefs of the company are unacceptable and obviously completely inconsistent with Uber's strong support of the LGBT community.  Today, we informed Portland Taxi Company that we are ending our affiliation with the company and have removed all of their drivers from the Uber platform.”