Booted from Lyft
Ben Martella and Alec Jansen are an Indianapolis gay couple who have come forward to share they were booted from a Lyft Ride after giving each other a kiss.
The Indy Star reports: ‘”We basically pecked, nothing out of the ordinary,” said Martella, who’s going into his sophomore year at Butler. “He looked in his rear view mirror. He was yelling. We were stunned. We didn’t know the reason for it. He said, ‘I’m going to end your ride. I can’t have that in my car. I don’t have that here.’ … I was really upset. It was a big reaction for such a small display of affection between two guys.”’
Jansen also shared the experience “didn’t seem…real.”
Lyft driver in Indianapolis orders gay couple out of his car after they kiss https://t.co/6UdbM4cWlj pic.twitter.com/1MccG4PAyK
— IndyStar (@indystar) May 18, 2018
Once Martella complained to Lyft about the incident, he said he got an impersonal email response signed by ambiguous person named “George” who claimed the company had taken action.
Later, the company was contacted by the Indianapolis Star and said it had “deactivated the driver but offered few additional details.”’
The Lyft website does offer the following on their policy regarding anti-discrimination:
“Discrimination against passengers or drivers on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, physical or mental disability, medical condition, marital status, age, or sexual orientation is not allowed, and can result in deactivation from the platform.
Lyft is committed to maintaining an inclusive and welcoming community, and our mission is ensuring people who need rides most are able to get them. Refusing passengers with service animals is a violation of our terms of service. Discrimination of any kind may result in the offender's immediate deactivation.”
h/t: Towleroad
