Uber CEO Apologizes for Argument With Driver, Says He Needs to 'Grow Up'

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said Tuesday that he was "ashamed" after a video emerged of him arguing with an Uber driver, Financial Times reports.

Kalanick got into an argument with his driver over fares in February. The quarrel was recorded on the drivers' dash cam and turned over to Bloomberg News.

"My job as your leader is to lead . . . and that starts with behaving in a way that makes us all proud. That is not what I did, and it cannot be explained away," Kalanick said.

He added: "It’s clear this video is a reflection of me and the criticism we’ve received is a stark reminder that I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up. This is the first time I’ve been willing to admit that I need leadership help and I intend to get it."

Fawzi Kamel, an Uber driver since 2011, told Kalanick he was upset because the company lowered prices for people who took the Uber Black service. Uber Black cost riders $4.90 per mile or $1.25 per minute in San Francisco in 2012 according to Bloomberg News and, today the service charges $3.75 per mile and $0.65 per minute.

"To say that I am ashamed is an extreme understatement," Kalanick said in an email to Uber staff.

"You're raising the standards, and you're dropping the prices," Kamel told Kalanick, to which Kalanick responded, "we're not dropping the prices on black."

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