Lawmakers, investors, and regulators move to hold Uber accountable as new data reveals the scale of sexual violence during rides nationwide.
Uber faces mounting scrutiny across the country as lawmakers, investors and others move to hold the ride-hailing giant accountable for a pervasive pattern of sexual violence during rides.
In California, a proposed ballot initiative would make ride-hailing companies legally responsible for sexual misconduct and assault against drivers and passengers.
The state attorney’s initiative said: This is a California Initiative Statute (25-0029A1) that aims to increase rideshare safety by treating companies as “common carriers,” making them liable for sexual misconduct, requiring monthly incident reports, risk disclosures to riders, and mandatory annual fingerprinting for drivers, with potential increased state costs for background checks and court cases. The proposal holds companies accountable for harms, strengthens background checks, mandates transparency through public reporting, and empowers riders with risk information before rides.
On Wall Street, the New York State comptroller is leading a shareholder push for Uber’s board to release a “transparency report” detailing its oversight of passenger safety.
And in Washington, Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan sent a letter to Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber’s chief executive, denouncing the company for prioritizing its “bottom line” over safety. Ms. Dingell, a Democrat, said in an interview that she wanted to hold a congressional hearing and explore legislation on the issue.
All three actions cite New York Times reporting that found Uber received a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct in the United States almost every eight minutes on average between 2017 and 2022 — far more than what the company has publicly disclosed. Uber executives have long been aware of the extensiveness of sexual violence, The Times found, yet they repeatedly prioritized expanding their business over introducing stronger protections.
Uber’s background checks approved drivers with many types of criminal convictions, and that the company allowed many drivers with records of complaints to keep driving — until passengers accused them of serious sexual assault.
“There is no trade-off that should be acceptable to Uber, considering the devastating impact of sexual assault,” Ms. Dingell said in the letter.
Uber has said it is one of the safest ways to get around, with the vast majority of its trips in the United States — 99.9 percent — occurring without an incident of any kind.
Matt Kallman, an Uber spokesperson, said in a statement that the company had had “several constructive meetings” with Ms. Dingell and her staff and would “continue to answer any of their questions about our approach to safety.”
