Vehicles that are component of the Lyft experience-hailing fleet sit in a great deal in Denver on April 30, 2020. The enterprise states additional than 1,800 sexual assaults were reported by riders in 2019, and the quantity of incidents has been climbing sharply in latest decades.
David Zalubowski/AP
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David Zalubowski/AP
Vehicles that are portion of the Lyft journey-hailing fleet sit in a good deal in Denver on April 30, 2020. The business suggests a lot more than 1,800 sexual assaults were being documented by riders in 2019, and the selection of incidents has been soaring sharply in new decades.
David Zalubowski/AP
Lyft received an escalating range of experiences of sexual assault in the latest yrs, which include far more than 1,800 in 2019, according to a basic safety report from the experience-hailing firm.
Far more than 50 percent of the assaults in 2019 were “non-consensual touching of a sexual human body section” and a further 156 included non-consensual sexual penetration, in accordance to the report.
The report also stated 10 fatal assaults from 2017 by way of 2019, which include 4 in 2019.
Lyft launched the figures virtually two a long time following bigger rival Uber place out a very similar report that confirmed additional than 3,000 sexual assaults ended up noted on rides within the U.S. in 2018. Lyft pledged in 2019 to set out its very own report.
The experience-hailing companies have occur underneath increasing scrutiny above basic safety troubles, specifically sexual assaults.
The Lyft report was praised by the team that operates the nationwide sexual-assault hotline for victims.
“We’re happy to see Lyft sharing safety information and facts with the community and stimulate other organizations and organizations to do the similar,” mentioned Erinn Robinson, a spokeswoman for the Rape, Abuse & Incest Countrywide Community. “No field is immune to sexual violence, and this pervasive trouble are not able to be resolved with out shining a light-weight into darkish corners and inquiring how to do superior.”
Lyft Inc. explained the selection of sexual-assault studies collected on its application rose from 1,096 in 2017 to 1,255 in 2018 and 1,807 in 2019 as its company grew.
The enterprise reported that from 2017 to 2019, much more than 99% of rides happened with no any claimed basic safety-similar incident.
A Lyft formal says sexual assaults as a percentage of rides lowered
A Lyft formal claimed in a blog article Thursday that the rate of sexual assaults as a percentage of rides lessened by 19% around the 3-calendar year period protected in the report.
“Even though security incidents on our platform are unbelievably scarce, we recognize that even one is way too numerous,” Jennifer Brandenburger, the firm’s head of plan improvement and study, stated in the blog.
Lyft mentioned it frequently does not convey to police about basic safety incidents until it is served with a subpoena, a policy it reported protects particular information about riders and drivers. Lyft mentioned the decision to report an event to legislation enforcement “is a deeply personalized just one.”
The company mentioned it investigates security incidents through “correspondence with drivers and riders,” police reports and other info.
“Typically talking, men and women who are accused of committing the styles of incidents specific in this report will be permanently removed from the Lyft local community, blocking them from riding or driving in the future,” it stated.
The San Francisco-dependent company suggests it screens all drivers with original and once-a-year track record checks and monitors legal and driving information.
