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The Hague (AFP)

Ride-hailing operator Uber announced Monday it has launched in the Netherlands a new function that allows LGBT users to report if they have suffered discrimination.

The "report button" made its debut during the Gay Pride festival in Amsterdam, which attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year.

The Netherlands is the first country where the app's new function is available but it could be rolled out in other countries as well, a company spokesman said.

The move is part of measures promoted by taxi services to fight discrimination in Amsterdam, where members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transexual community accuse drivers of regularly rejecting them as passengers.

"When I want to take a taxi, they often refuse to take me as a passenger. And sometimes, when I am actually seated in a taxi, the driver doesn't want to speak to me," Jennifer Hopelazz, an Australian drag queen based in Amsterdam for nearly 30 years, said in a video posted on the Uber Netherlands website Monday.

The latest incident occurred in early July when an Uber driver refused to pick up Hopelazz.

"I feel angry, wounded and humiliated," Hopelazz said in the video.

In a statement, Uber vowed to "work hard to fight against this discrimination".

"Unfortunately there still exist some examples of intolerance and discrimination in the taxi business," the company said.

Depending on the seriousness of the allegations, Uber will respond to complaints by mail, instant message or a phone call, and a warning could be sent to drivers accused of discrimination.

In turn, drivers will also be able to use the new function to report complaints.

© 2019 AFP