Uber Bails On Pregnant Woman, Delivers Itself More Bad Headlines

Every so often, back in the day, one would occasionally see a headline about a baby born in the backseat of a cab.

Apparently, Uber is looking to make the abolition of such headlines part of its central mission of disruption.

Uber has run into its most recent round of less than spectacularly endearing headlines after an Uber driver allegedly left a pregnant woman in labor on the sidewalk.

The mother-to be, her spouse and birthing coach were en route to the hospital to deliver their son and had summoned an Uber driver to handle their 3-mile ride to a delivery room.

Everything was going as planned until the lady in labor wretched on the sidewalk, at which point the Uber driver bailed, explaining that if she threw up in the car he would lose $1,000 per day. He further noted that no Uber driver would take a woman in labor.

As a parting shot, he charged them $13 for the ride he did not give them.

A different Uber driver picked the group up and dropped them off without incident. The couple’s son was delivered and is reportedly doing well.

“I don’t blame Uber for one driver’s poor actions, since bad apples can appear in any organization, but I do think that when a company has a culture of bullying their way past laws and regulations, as Uber seems to do, they begin to think they can act with impunity in anything,” the baby’s father noted.

Uber did refund the couple’s money, eventually, but the new parents remain irritated that the firm won’t admit that perhaps leaving a woman in labor on the sidewalk is something they should apologize for. They also remain irritated at Uber’s refusal to release the name of the driver, as the couple would like to report the incident to New York’s taxi regulator.

In response to questions from Fortune, an Uber rep noted that the firm does not comment on individual incidents such as these.

“Denying service to a passenger in labor is unacceptable: it goes against our code of conduct and the standard of service our riders rely on,” the spokesperson said. “We extend our deepest apologies to both riders and have taken action to respond to this complaint. We are glad that the rider’s next driver was professional and courteous.”