A pilot is alleging a Lyft driver left him in a grocery store parking lot after realizing how little money he would make on the ride. (Reuters)
A pilot for a major airliner is accusing a Lyft driver of ditching him in a random parking lot on his way to LAX after realizing how little money he would be making on the trip.
On Thursday morning, pilot Darryl, who requested his last name not be used, used the ride-hailing app Lyft to take him to Los Angeles International Airport where he was catching a flight at 7:30 am, KTLA reported.
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Darryl said his initial Lyft ride had been canceled because the driver was too far from where the pilot was staying in Hermosa Beach, California. The second driver was coming from LAX when he picked Darryl up.
"He ... picked me up, I loaded the bag and we and we started to leave, and then I guess he looked at – the destination popped up on his phone at that time, and then he got very frustrated," Darryl said in a Skype interview to KTLA. "He did not want to go back to LAX."
Darryl, who was dressed in his pilot uniform, informed the driver he needed to be at the airport to catch an early-morning flight, the news site reported. Darryl alleges the driver began to drive dangerously, "gunning it" down streets and "running stop signs," he said in the interview.
"I've done nothing wrong and you're kicking me out of the car?"
However, as the ride continued, the driver allegedly began to voice concerns about how little money he would be making on the ride and that he wanted to drop the pilot off in a Trader Joe’s parking lot in Hermosa Beach, about 6 miles south of the airport, KTLA reported.
When the driver pulled into the grocery store parking lot, Darryl began filming the incident. In the released footage, Darryl asks the driver why he is "kicking" him out of the car.
"Say why you're doing this again?" Darryl can be heard asking the driver. "I've done nothing wrong and you're kicking me out of the car?"
The driver responds, “I have the right to refuse service,” before saying he just came from LAX and after “45 minutes of driving” he will only make $6.
"That doesn't sound right to me," the driver said.
"Dude. I used the app to get a driver. You came and picked me up. And now you're just dropping me off in a parking lot?" Darryl asks.
The driver apologizes and tells Darryl in the recording, "I’m sorry man, I can’t make $6 an hour."
Once the driver leaves, Darryl called another Lyft who took him to the airport.
“They assured me that I would never be paired with that driver again and I thought you got to be kidding me. He still worked for Lyft."
Darryl said he arrived 15 minutes late for his flight.
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The pilot said he contacted the company to tell them about the incident. Instead of an apology, Darryl told KTLA he received a "standard" form letter from Lyft informing him the matter would be taken seriously.
"They assured me that I would never be paired with that driver again and I thought you got to be kidding me. He still worked for Lyft," Darryl said to KTLA.
While Darryl said he will still continue to use ride-hailing services, he said he wasn’t pleased with Lyft’s response, according to KTLA. He did say the company reached out to him Friday morning, but would not reveal how they would be dealing with the driver involved.
Lyft did not immediately return Fox News’ request for comment.
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