Uber Says 3,045 Sexual Assaults Were Reported in U.S. Rides Last Year

Uber was stupid for being honest and releasing their very, very low incidence of "sexual assaults" during 1,300,000,000 (!) rides. The US media only exists by spewing spectacular hatred! Although no one has done the numbers, the 533 in a single city would indicate that the Uber numbers are 10 times LOWER than other forms of transit. You did NOT hear that in ANY us media. But you did hear "experts" telling you to that Uber tips were dangerous. Hey Uber -- next time, just deny anyone every had an unpleasant trip -- you trusted the wrong people with your honesty.

As an actual victim of an Uber assault, this is horrific and upsetting. And the numbers keep going up. CNN is reporting that the number is now 6000 rapes. This is completely unacceptable. Do not sit there and congratulate Uber for their transparency. This is just a PR stunt so that they can control the narrative, as they like to do. What they are really trying to say is, “ look!! We only had 6000 rapes in a year!! Congratulations to us!! Out of millions of rides only 6000 women have had their lives ruined!! Excellent!!” That is hideous. I also hate Mr. West’s comment that this is just a reflection of society at large. When does Uber plan on excepting responsibility?? When will they be held accountable and responsible?? I was sexually assaulted and beaten to within an inch of my life. And no one cares. How come no other major American companies have numbers such as this?? When you walk into a Target or into a McDonald’s do you ever worry about getting raped?? How many rapes have occurred within a target in the last year?? Chew on that for a moment California

Uber is a safe mode of transportation. How's this? - female taxi drivers are super rare. Why? Too dangerous, no way to track riders... Female Uber drivers are very common - Why? With no cash, traceable riders, etc, driving for Uber is a viable option for women. Even a single sexual assault is bad - but statistically, Uber has a minuscule rate of assault and the fact that a massively higher percentage of Uber drivers are woman vs percentage of taxi drivers, drives home the point.

Started driving part time 5 years ago. Bought a 2 directional dash cam after 2 years after seeing a video going around where a bronx female threatened the driver verbally saying I'm going to tell the police that you raped me. I bought one the next day. I think therre is plenty more these companies could do. 1 require a fingerprint check for it's drivers-they have fought it. 2 remove problematic passengers and share info between the companies so they can't go to the other service. 3 require ID to register as a passenger with a photo so driver can ID them. You can't imagine how many minors I encounter which is against their own terms of service to pick up. Lastly require every car have a dashcam

I’ll keep this comment concise, direct, and straight to the point. This is disturbing, and completely unacceptable. My disappointment and utter disgust at these numbers is an understatement. Both Uber and Lyft have to seriously get their act together when it comes to driver and rider safety. By focusing on the principles of what the ride share application is primarily all about with absolute accountability and transparency. Do you need me to drive again to show how it’s done? Please ask.

I shall keep this comment concise, direct, and straight to the point. This is disturbing and completely unacceptable. My disappointment and utter disgust at these numbers is an understatement. Both Uber and Lyft have to seriously get their act together when it comes to driver and rider safety. By focusing on the principles of what the ride share application is all about with absolute accountability and transparency, rather than attempts to create more ways to offer services; the possibility for both companies to be in the black at the end of each fiscal quarter or year is there. Do you need me to drive again to show how it's done? Please ask.

Where are the victims voices in all of this?? Someone should interview the victims and get their perspectives

Wow, that's some comment from uber's top lawyer - the NYTimes seems to give him some credit - he doesn't deserve any: (a) his comment deflects all responsibility and blames society at large; and (b) he seems to have been surprised by the findings when, in fact, he probably knew darn well AND, more importantly, should have if he didn't. He deserves no credit - only blame.

Comparing to, say, when you get into a car with a complete stranger, either driver or passenger, I would say Uber is multiplicatively safer than taking regular cabs that have no authorization with a bank account and carry cash. But clear, all crimes should be dealt with seriously.

I would never get into a car with a stranger who was not a licensed and vetted employee of a reputable company. It's madness to take that chance with an unknown.

The percentage "odds" obviously change and become more of a consideration if the total is not all rides but (say) late night rides by unaccompanied, unarmed and unwary females, possibly for the Uber-touted MADD-partnered alternative to driving under the influence. My personal odds of a ride-share assault would be virtually zero in any circumstance, but that's not at all the case for every passenger.

I always thought you would be crazy to get in a car with a stranger (except a licensed taxi driver ) and it looks like I was right. Have never used either Uber or Lyft and never will. We have regulations for a reason - to protect workers and consumers alike.

Why not install bidirectional cams on the dashboard of all ride-share cars? They are dirt cheap, fully automatic, and would record whatever is going on both inside and outside of the car. Their presence would discourage would-be gropers and, if the car is in an accident, provide a video record of the crash. Bad actors would be chronicled and the innocent provided with evidence of their innocence. Sounds like a no-brainer, no?

I read this, looked at the numbers, and listened to the interview with Tony West. I applaud Uber for their transparency. The important citation that these incidents represent 0.0002% of Uber rides is both comforting and important. I would venture to guess that a larger percentage of those 1.3 billion riders would have been groped, injured, or assaulted had they walked, taken public transportation, driven, or jumped in a car with someone else. It is not an insignificant statistic, and while not exculpatory, certainly it helps put things in perspective. This article mentions that 7 murders were of Uber drivers, and 8 were of passengers, but does not mention that roughly 50% of the assaults were perpetrated on drivers by passengers--i.e. assaults on Uber workers by the general public. Given this, it feels that the coverage and reactions to Uber's disclosure is somewhat unfair to Uber--including even the subheading on this article. I often use Uber, as does my family, both in the U.S. and abroad. Uber gives the comfort of at least knowing that my trip, and my driver and I, are being tracked and logged. There is some comfort in this.

Female and frequent Uber user. Just this week I noticed a statement in a driver's profile that said he had passed 2 types of background checks, presumably driving record and criminal, so that was reassuring. I always check driver's license plate, description of car, photo, and name in profile before getting into the car or within seconds of commencing the ride. It is also a good idea to use the pool feature and ride with others (although you could be left alone with driver if you are the last drop off). I have never experienced anything but excellent customer service by hardworking drivers. That said, I have spoken to female drivers who have experienced harrassment on the job from male riders! This is frightening and horrible and I hope Uber is aware of this and will make efforts to establish reporting mechanisms or ways to immediately contact the police to protect any driver from harrassment while on the job. One final thing to mention is that I have heard of drivers that Uber has screened lending out their cars to friends who log into the app as that person and work under the radar. This is truly scary as these unofficial subcontractors are unknowns with regard to their backgrounds. The only way to identify these people would be to institute random checks where the individual has to present an id. So, if a driver does not match the profile photo, report it and do not accept the ride. It is better to pay a cancellation fee than risk putting yourself in danger.

Uber is all about trying to stay alive until autonomous cars are a reality. Not only will they finally become profitable, but that day would be a godsend for female passengers. "Unwelcome comments about a person's appearance" is a reportable offense?

By using phrases like, "The number of incidents represented a fraction..." or saying that incidents are "A reflection of the society it serves" is simply Uber's method of pushing the blame elsewhere. The problem is Uber and its desire to make billions regardless of the cost to women, children or others in its wake. Uber alone is responsible, let's hope the riding public sees through their failed experiment in people to people commerce.

Regulation of public services like Uber and lyft are required just as standard taxi companies are. If you use Uber and lyft to save money, what is your life and health worth to you?

I hear that a lot of the sexual assault reports are false and initiated by riders who want the company to give their money back as they report, falsely, that the driver acted inappropriately. There are no checks and the money is refunded. This policy would encourage false reports I think. But it would be good for the company to complete background checks on all their drivers just to stop any speculations about riders safety.

Since they are losing so much money without and prospect of ever being profitable, how long till Uber comes begging for a government bailout? As a few realize, the business model of Uber et. al. was never to be profitable but to provide a way for a the founders to make a ton of cash.

I used Uber once to get a ride to the mechanic to pick up my car after it had been in the shop all day. The driver didn't speak English, didn't know how to use or understand his Uber app, didn't know the rules of the road, he ran a stop sign, and had obscured his Uber ID. He told me he was traveling in the US; he was visiting Boston for a while and then he was going to NYC. He wasn't scary, but it seemed to me that he didn't have a US drivers license, it wasn't his car, and... he very likely was not legally allowed to work in the US. That would never happen in a licensed cab. Whomever had the Uber account with that car, it wasn't the man who was driving it when he picked me up at my house. As a woman, I found it frightening. This is why I will not use Uber of Lyft again, and I will only use a licensed taxi company. This article reveals everything that is wrong with their business model, and why taxi and limousine companies are licensed and regulated. I saw this coming right from the beginning. Uber and Lyft are a sexual predator's and thief's dream come true. What does surprise me is that Uber tracks sexual assaults and fatal crashes at all and is willing to divulge that information.

What's the rate of assault in regular taxis? The comparison is the key.

Remember, these are just the small percentage of the assaults that were REPORTED, not the ones that occurred.

3,045 / 365 = 8.34246575 per day. Day in and day out. Nine murders? Murders? 58 killed in crashes, does that include the driver? "And a reflection of the society it serves." And we elected a Gutter Rat to the highest office in the land. It just makes my head explode. Just another day in the neighborhood.

“The numbers are jarring and hard to digest,” Tony West, Uber’s chief legal officer, said in an interview. “What it says is that Uber is a reflection of the society it serves.” It takes a real pro to shift the blame to "society" and get away with it. While it is foolish to get into a strange, unmarked vehicle, driven by an ununiformed driver without a medallion in general, because of those caveats Uber and Lyft should exercise extreme vetting to assure the comfort and safety of all its riders. Until then these companies should be shunned.

Statistics mean little in isolation, but its still worth applauding Uber for stepping into the void here with no guarantee any of its competitors will follow. Hopefully they can take steps that improve these numbers. All of that said...Does anyone seriously think that taxis are any better? Sure, the drivers are licensed. But if you're an inebriated woman trying to get home from a night out, whose car would you rather get into: A. That of the taxi driver, who sees you are drunk, has his placard obscured/hidden in the front seat, and knows there is no record of you ever having stepped into his car? B. Or the Uber driver, who knows that he will be held accountable for whatever he does, because its very easy for Uber to go back and see his and her ride history, even if he cancels the ride as soon as she steps in. It's a no-brainer to choose B and I hope we see comparable statistics from the taxi industry soon, but I'm not holding my breath.

It’s good that Uber released this much. But the total number of crashes is undoubtedly much higher than the number of fatal ones, which they released. Uber and Lyft should release data on all crashes, particularly those that result in serious injuries to the drivers, passengers or people on the street.

I have been put in situations where although there was no physical toughing, I was put in an incredibly unsafe situation two times. The drivers decided to go routes that made the trip last an extra half hour (the trips should have been ten minutes at most) while pressuring me the whole time agree to going on dates or give them my phone number/contact information. I'm sure that because I said no, these drivers gave me one stars since my rating fell after both of these incidents. I contacted Uber's customer service, which is actually just some weird messaging type system where you get a pre-written reply after 24 hours. I sent messages everyday for nearly two weeks, getting pre-written messages about how they were dealing with the problem and I wouldn't get matched with that driver again. Nothing about ensuring my safety in the future or my rating or even giving me my money back. I was never given a genuine human message even once and after that I knew I was completely worthless to this company. I essentially had to pay them money to get harassed by their drivers. To them, it was fine that this happened to me and its fine that women get raped or murdered. They literally don't care. I'm sure victims and their close relatives can expect a pre-written card to be auto sent in the mail after 24 hours.

Where are the data for taxis? Where are the data for NYC black cars?

Let's just get rid of Uber it's nothing but trouble.

Is this report just the USA or worldwide? Also how does it compare to a regular taxi services. This report leaves a lot unanswered. We need more data in report like this.

In addition to this report, they should release one showing the number of unsafe driving incidents reported by riders. I’ve personally experienced multiple unsafe left turns in front of oncoming traffic (one that came within a few feet of a collision), drivers ignoring emergency vehicles, running of red lights, drivers nearly hitting cyclists, drivers traveling in protected bike lanes (he didn’t realize it was a bike lane, despite it being painted bright green and having a clear barrier), drivers constantly stopping in the right-of-way and creating traffic jams, illegal u-turns crossing double yellow lines on congested downtown streets....the list is endless. I report every incident and am always met with an auto-reply. San Francisco has an estimated 25,000 additional Uber/Lyft cars on the road every day and a large majority are people who travel here from other cities. They don’t know how to navigate our roads or drive cautiously and it’s caused massive problems. Just ask any SF resident how they feel about Uber/Lyft and I guarantee the response will be an angry one. I personally am tired of both companies. I miss the days when I could ride my bike around the city and not worry about an impatient, inexperienced, and distracted driver running me over with their car.

Uber's chief legal officer says by way of explanation/justification, "Uber is a reflection of the society it serves." This sounds suspiciously like "blaming the victim."

This is a chilling example of percentages being inconsequential; sexual crimes against Uber passengers might be a fraction of one percent, but there are still more than three thousand people who are victims of heinous crimes. That’s a huge and unacceptable number. As a woman who frequently travels alone, I will surely re-evaluate my transportation choices.