According to Helping Survivors, an organization that supports those impacted by sexual assault and abuse, “Rideshare sexual assault, abuse, and harassment is a growing problem across all rideshare platforms, including Uber and Lyft.”
Uber released data in 2019 that revealed nearly 6,000 sexual assaults and 19 fatal physical assaults over the 2017-2018 period. In a follow-up report covering 2019-2020, sexual assaults declined 38% to 3,824, and physical assaults stayed even. Lyft’s 2021 U.S. safety report showed 4,158 sexual assaults between 2017-19.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) also looked at data from six federal agencies but considered it unreliable, incomplete or applicable only to drivers. The GAO interviewed five state agencies and five local agencies, but none regularly collect assault data from app-hailing or taxi companies. The GAO report did not make any recommendations but concluded that “the available data are not comparable or are not complete for the purpose of understanding the extent of assaults against ride-sourcing and taxi drivers and passengers.”
Source: SmartCities Dive
