Uber releases security data: 998 sexual assaults, including 141 rape reports in 2020

admin June 30, 2022

5 3 minutes read

Uber releases security data: 998 sexual assaults, including 141 rape reports in 2020

The 78-page report, which covers 2019 and 2020, is the second Uber has ever released regarding security incidents following a CNN investigation into sexual assault and assault on the ride-healing platform four years ago.

In its latest report, Uber said it received 3,824 reports of the five most serious categories of sexual assault, ranging from “non-consensual kissing of a non-sexual body part” to “sexual penetration without consent” or rape. That is down from the 5,981 reports it registered in 2017 and 2018, according to the first report released in December 201[ads1]9. Uber said riders were the accused party 43% of the time in sexual assault reports, similar to the previous report (45%).

In particular, Uber’s total number of US trips during the two-year period fell to 2.1 billion from 2.3 billion in the first report, and average trips fell from 3.1 million to 2.8 million per day. The company notes that the frequency of reports of sexual abuse decreased by 38% from the first report to the second.

The 141 rape reports in 2020 mark a decline from 2019, where it registered 247 reviews. In the same period, the total number of trips in the US fell to 650 million in 2020, from 1.4 billion trips in 2019, according to the report. In the case of rape reports, such incidents accounted for 0.00002% of the total number of trips.

“The change in the frequency of sexual assault reports over time may have been influenced by a number of factors, including how the Covid-19 pandemic changed the use of the platform as well as Uber’s efforts for security and transparency,” Uber said in the report. “But every reported incident represents a harrowing experience for the survivor. Even one report is one report too many.”

About 91% of the rape victims were riders and about 7% of the victims were drivers. Women made up 81% of the victims, while men made up about 15% (almost double the first report).

The report shows the effectiveness of various security measures the company has implemented over the years. In 2018, it introduced continuous background checks of drivers using technology that monitors for new reports of criminal offenses. The report states that this feature has led to more than 80,000 drivers being removed from the platform to date.

Uber also reported 20 deaths as a result of physical abuse during the two-year period, of which 15 were riders. Uber notes that the increase “is similar to national homicide and aggravated assault statistics from 2020 during the pandemic.” It reported that 101 fatalities in motor vehicles occurred as a result of Uber-related accidents. The report claims that the death rate for motor vehicles connected to Uber’s platform in both 2019 and 2020 is about “half the national average”.

Uber, followed by Lyft, first promised to put together a safety transparency report in response to a 2018 CNN survey of drivers on the platform accused of sexually abusing or abusing passengers since 2014, based on publicly available data including police reports. After CNN began asking questions about sexual assault, Uber announced increased security measures as a partnership with RapidSOS, a company that sends a rider’s location and relevant information to a local police agency when the rider uses the emergency button in the Uber app, and the company renews its approach to background checks.

Following Uber’s initial report, the California Public Utilities Commission fined Uber $ 59 million for failing to provide additional data on sexual assault and harassment incidents on its platform. The California regulator later drastically reduced the fine as part of a settlement agreement approved in December 2021, in which Uber agreed to pay $ 9 million for security-related initiatives.

Lift, meanwhile, released its first ever safety report in October 2021, revealing that it received 4,158 reports of sexual assault on its platform from 2017 to 2019. Lift, unlike Uber, has not released any commitment to release future reports on the subject.

Earlier this month, Lyft agreed to a $ 25 million settlement with shareholders related to statements and revelations about the business, including specifically abuse-related incidents, before they were announced in 2019.

In March 2021, Uber and Lyft announced that they would share the names of drivers who were disabled due to the most serious security incidents, including sexual assault, ranging from kissing without consent to a non-sexual body part to rape. The information sharing is managed by a third party consumer reporting agency, Hire Right. Uber’s new report provides no updates on this partnership and the results since its launch.

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