Uber Wants to Stay in the Fast Lane with Safety.

On the heels of a breaking story about a Boston Uber driver who got away with serial rape for three years because his sister was a government official, Uber is announcing four new automated safety features to protect riders.

YOU get the credit for this – all of you who have come forward to file reports with the proper authorities after being tragically sexually assaulted during a ride. The rideshare safety campaign ACFW began in 2019 has resulted in huge changes in the way Uber (and Lyft, too) is run and how ridesharing services protect riders.

“In general, far less than 1% of rideshare rides result in sexual assault and abuse reported to Uber or Lyft. However, that still means thousands of individuals experience harm every year including sexual assault and rape.”
– helpingsurvivors.org, April 19, 2024

On April 9, 2024, a new lawsuit filed in federal court in Delaware charged that Uber’s leadership falsely represented the platform’s safety in the context of both public filings and advertising, despite its executives knowing there were more than 9,000 sexual assaults committed by drivers reported between 2017 and 2020 alone.

On the other hand, some good and drastic changes have occurred regarding the way Uber is operating moving forward, including how authentically the company presents its brand, not to mention the required national safety report due every two years in December:

The US Uber Safety Report has been federally mandated every other EOY since 2017. These are bi-annual statistical summaries that reveal how many people were sexually assaulted or otherwise harmed by drivers during trips for the previous two-year timeframe. Common logic dictates that many assaults never get reported, but the monitoring is a huge step that keeps pressure on Uber executives to make safety Priority #1.

Yep, Uber takes its share of the credit for caring enough to look at the tough issues, but realistically the company’s concern is driven as much by wanting to stay ahead in terms of profits. Uber says this on its official website:

“In order to improve something, you have to measure it. Yet data on serious safety issues, especially sexual violence, is sparse and inconsistent. By sharing hard data, we can hold ourselves accountable and share best practices with other companies for the benefit of everyone.”

Yay. But in fairness, the company only began measuring unsavory data when subscriber and advocate pressure began jeopardizing profits after more than a decade from the startup’s meteoric launch, and multiple thousands of (under)reported assault incidents later. REPEAT: Just between 2017-2020, more than 9,000 sexual assaults were documented.

So Now, What’s New at Uber?

The latest safety features were announced April 12, 2024, with the option to be turned on automatically based on time or location or programmed for all trips. Here’s how the new additions enhance the sophistication of Uber’s security system:

1/ Pin verification that gives riders the option to get a four-digit code to make sure they’re getting in the intended car.

2/ Route check feature that lets you know if a driver goes off course, stops unexpectedly, or ends a trip early.

3/ In-app audio recording feature that can record your trip and secure the encrypted audio on your phone.

4/ Trip-share connection with a friend or family member for added backup.

It’s Still Not Enough.

Currently, Uber faces more than 400 pending lawsuits related to passenger assaults or harassment.

On April 5, 2024, a new lawsuit was filed in the Uber MDL (multidistrict litigation filed directly in California). The plaintiff experienced sexual assault, harassment, and battery by an Uber driver during a ride arranged through the Uber platform in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, on October 1, 2022.

In June 2023, Uber and Lyft left Austin, Texas, when local voters demanded fingerprinting and tougher background checks for drivers. The company has so far refused to connect to the FBI’s data bank, which would flag more prospective drivers who have a criminal record. Chicago threatened to be the next city to bail.

All the way back in September 2017, Uber paid $32.5 million to settle a class action lawsuit over its spotty background protocol for new drivers, consenting to stop claiming it was the “the safest ride on the road” in its advertising, and also, to rename its “safe ride fee” to a more appropriate (accurate) “booking fee,” which is still the tag used today.

Uber’s efforts toward improvement are undeniable, but what we want to see now is more rigorous pre-employment checking, aka, access to FBI files. Situations often change during the course of a trip, as in Boston when the serial rapist driver started out one night with a group of people he picked up at a bar and ended up with one intoxicated woman who wanted to go back. Instead, he took her to his place and sexually assaulted her. Just like that.

And if this happened to you, there is something you can do about it. We are working with thousands of women to hold Uber (and Lyft) accountable for failing to protect women from assault by drivers with checkered pasts. Contact our team now to tell us your story and learn how legal action can help empower you. We’re ready to help.

Uber Wants to Stay in the Fast Lane with Safety.

Issues

So What Do I Do with The Money?(AKA Taking Control of Your Post-Settlement Finances)