A Democratic senator is demanding ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft answer questions about how they handled allegations of sexual assault and harassment against their drivers.
Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut pressed the two companies in letters Wednesday following press reports about Uber and Lyft’s responses to incidents involving drivers. More than 100 Uber drivers in the United States have been reportedly accused of sexual misconduct by passengers, and Lyft kept on its platform a driver who allegedly held a female passenger at gunpoint and raped her, according to a recent report.
Lyft is also facing lawsuits from 30 passengers who claimed they were raped by drivers.
“Uber has repeatedly marketed itself as a way of ensuring a safe ride home after a night of drinking. If marketing your company as providing safe rides for young, intoxicated women is going to be part of your business model, then it is especially crucial that you ensure that these rides are in fact safe,” Blumenthal wrote to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. “Otherwise, these advertisements serve as a signal to sexual predators that driving for Uber is an effective way to prey on vulnerable young women.”
Blumenthal said he is “alarmed by Uber’s public statements about” its handling of sexual misconduct allegations made against their drivers, “which indicate a brazenly careless attitude about your responsibility to your customers.”
In a separate letter to Lyft CEO Logan Green, Blumenthal criticized the company for its “‘labyrinthine’ complaint procedures and an inadequate response to complaints” made by victims of sexual assault perpetrated by Lyft drivers.
“You have stated that you ‘do not tolerate harassment or violence’ on your platform, but that is difficult to believe if you are not taking reports of harassment and violence seriously, as these reports suggest,” the Connecticut Democrat wrote.
In the wake of media reports about sexual assault allegations made against Uber and Lyft drivers, both companies have taken steps to ensure the safety of their riders. Both ride-sharing companies instituted a “panic button” that allows customers to call 911 from within the app and changed their policies requiring victims of sexual assault to pursue claims through arbitration.
But Blumenthal said their response to accusations of sexual misconduct has been “abysmal” and wants Uber and Lyft to detail their processes for dealing with reports of sexual assault or harassment. The Democratic senator also asked the two ride-sharing companies to commit to conducting fingerprint-based background checks, rather than name-based background checks.
