Uber faces discrimination complaints and driver earnings cuts in Brazil

A mother in Belo Horizonte reported that an Uber driver refused to transport her autistic daughter after noticing the child’s identification necklace, calling her a "clown" and ending the ride before it began. The incident, captured on the platform’s video feed, led the mother to file a complaint with Uber and the Minas Gerais Civil Police, prompting an inquiry by the city’s Specialized Police Unit for People with Disabilities and the Elderly.

Separately, Uber announced that a range of vehicle models will be removed from its Uber Comfort and Uber Black categories starting January 2027, limiting those cars to the basic UberX tier. Drivers, such as Ed Carlos Silva Miranda, report a drop in daily earnings from about R$450 to R$350 after their Renault Logan was re‑classified. The changes have drawn criticism from the ride‑share drivers’ union, which warns that frequent reclassification jeopardizes drivers’ investments in vehicles and income stability.