Uber UK boss Jo Bertram trolled by London's black cab drivers on Twitter
The drivers have been trolling the Cambridge physics graduate over the last few months, suggesting she should be "run over", while also commenting on her appearance and even suggesting she is aroused by rape.
Licensed taxi drivers in London have been involved in a bitter battle with San Francisco taxi-hailing company since it arrived in the UK capital last year. The cabbies believe Uber is undercutting them with its 'illegal' taxi metre but many of the messages addressed to Bertram are personal attacks.
Henry Kaczorowski, 49, from Romford, East London, asked Bertram if she was aroused by rape, reports The Sunday Times.
Using the Twitter handle "Arnold Circus", Kaczorowski contributed to a discussion thread on Twitter where other drivers were discussing how safe female passengers are when they drive with Uber.
One Twitter user asked: "Wonder what she must feel every time a women is sexually assaulted in an Uber car"
Kaczorowski responded: "Perhaps she gets a little tingle between her legs. U never know she may like it." He's also understood to have called Bertram a "ropey old bint" in a separate Tweet. Bertram did not respond to Kaczorowski's messages.
In April, another cab driver by the name of "taxi driver AI Mac" wrote: "I hope you get run over by a [Toyota] Prius, you and that c*** travis [Kalanick, Uber's chief executive] will get [sorted] out its only time ticktock."
Female cab driver "claire bear" has also been joining in with the barage of abuse, sending over 40 Tweets where she criticises Bertram's looks and even compares her to disgraced BBC DJ Jimmy Saville.
An Uber spokesperson said: "These comments are concerning but we hope it is only a few cabbies letting the industry down.
"Such views have no place in today's society and fortunately they are far outweighed by the huge amount of support we get from the people that really matter to us, our riders and driver partners."