More than 2 in 5 sexual assaults involving Uber rides were perpetrated by the passenger, latest data shows
Reuters
- 43% of sexual assaults involving Ubers were perpetrated by passengers in 2019-2020.
- The total figure of sexual assaults reported, 3,824, marked a 38% drop from the previous two years.
- Other findings included that 101 people died in Uber crashes in the two year period.
Uber logged a 38% drop in sexual assault cases in 2019-2020 compared to the prior two years in its latest US safety report, released Thursday, with 3,824 total reported cases.
That's compared to 5,981 cases in 2017-2018. Of the latest case numbers, nearly half — 43% — involved the Uber passenger as the perpetrator.
The fall in sexual assault cases may in part be due to an overall drop in ridership numbers at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
The company logged just 650 million trips in 2020, compared to 1.4 billion trips in 2019. Since its first safety report, Uber has also removed 50,000 drivers from its platform as a result of continuous safety checks.
Uber doesn't automatically involve law enforcement when cases are reported, but leaves that decision up to the complaining party while directing them to sexual assault support organizations such as the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN.) The latest report did not state what proportion of cases later consulted with law enforcement.
California law firm Levin Simes Abrams filed a host of individual lawsuits against Uber last year involving sexual assaults allegedly committed by drivers, including some cases where passengers were asleep when the assault occurred.
A 2019 investigation by The Guardian found that Uber drivers who reported that they were assaulted by passengers were offered little support from the company. They argued that Uber needed to implement more robust checks on riders, rather than only on drivers.
Separately, Uber reported that 101 people died in 91 Uber traffic accidents in 2019-2020 and 20 people died by assault in 2019-2020. This is roughly on par with numbers from its first safety report, covering 2017-2018.
Uber did not immediately respond to Insider's request for further comment on the figures.
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