A Lyft driver, who also identifies as a regular listener of 77 WABC, claims he was booted off the platform after passenger's complained. November 14, 2024.
© Mark Vergari/The Journal News / USA TODAY NETWORK + © Nathan Harris/Times Recorder
(New York, NY) – In the aftermath of the presidential election, many conservatives have been either beating their chest — or walking on eggshells. Throughout the Tri-state area, an increasing number of Trump supporters have been forced to once again reconsider speaking their minds — as many left-leaning voters are highly upset that President-elect Trump will be returning to the White House.
And now it appears that a Lyft driver from the New York City area had his account with the rideshare company suspended, potentially because he was listening to 77 WABC — while transporting passengers. Javier Salazar says he’s been a good driver for Lyft, maintaining a high rating, and a 100% acceptance rate. He also candidly admits that his account was suspended in 2022 — after a passenger complained when he had 77 WABC on the radio.
Salazar recounts that during that incident in January, 2022, he was driving two women who objected when host Sid Rosenberg was criticizing Dr. Anthony Fauci — then a member of the White House coronavirus response team. Salazar says he immediately complied when he was asked to turn the radio show off. After dropping both women at their destination, his account received a complaint — and he was suspended for the better part of a day.
In that case, Salazar corresponded with Lyft and was told he was listening to “discriminatory or hate speech” on his vehicle’s radio. The company’s representative also explained that such behavior is in violation with Lyft’s standards and practices.
Then, most recently, Salazar says he was giving a passenger a ride on Wednesday, November 6, the day after the election. He indicates that while driving the passenger the two engaged in conversation, and that he was asked at one point if he “likes” Elon Musk. Salazar says he responded that he does like Musk, particularly given his accomplishments in new technology. The driver also maintains he was not asked at any point to turn off the radio or change the station from 77 WABC.
At the conclusion of that ride, Salazar says his account was hit with an official complaint and his account was suspended — or deactivated. In the follow-up correspondence with Lyft, a representative told Salazar he had been accused of “listening to inappropriate or discriminatory” radio or “podcast.” The representative referenced the 2022 suspension of Salazar’ account and said he was “advised” future incidents could lead to the termination of his account.
We contacted Lyft and asked if 77 WABC and other conservative talk radio stations regulated by the FCC are considered to be “hate speech” or “disinformation.” We also inquired as to whether listening to 77 WABC in vehicles is a violation of Lyft standards. No comment was provided as of this time.
Salazar says he plans to try and continue driving for other companies. He also reiterated that he always honors the requests of passengers if they ask for changes: to the radio, temperature, windows up/down, etc. He said that he believes Lyft wants to eventually replace human drivers with automated vehicles.
