STATE SAYS ‘HAIL, NO’
Criminal review purges drivers from Uber, Lyft
More than one in 10 ride-hailing app drivers in Massachusetts had criminal records, lacked drivers’ licenses or were even registered sex offenders, authorities revealed yesterday as they booted 8,206 Uber and Lyft contractors in the wake of sweeping background checks.
The long-awaited move is being hailed by cops, pols and a lawyer for a woman allegedly sexually assaulted by an Uber driver as an overdue crackdown.
The Department of Public Utilities reported that 11 percent of the state’s 70,789 Uber, Lyft and Fasten drivers have flunked their state background checks. In the survey of applications for the ride services, they found 51 registered sex offenders; more than 1,559 with histories of violent crime; 562 who lack current licenses; 1,640 with prior license suspensions; 1,580 with insufficient time as licensed drivers; and 1,250 with open court cases.
The size of the ouster surprised even those who have been pushing for the sweeps.
“Our fear was numbers like this,” said Elizabeth Chen, an attorney who represented a 20-year-old Boston woman who said an Uber driver groped her in 2015. “The problem was no one is running this background check.”
“Horror stories” — especially those about sexual assault — were leaving riders feeling vulnerable, said Mark Leahy, executive director of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association.
“For a young woman who gets out of work late and needs Uber to pick her up — this is a much better situation,” Leahy added. “Now she can feel a little safer about who is coming to get her.”
Lyft said by law it could not see criminal history older than seven years, while Uber blasted the data, saying drivers were unfairly being deactivated.
“Thousands of people in Massachusetts have lost access to economic opportunities as a result of a screening that includes an unfair and unjust indefinite look-back period,” an Uber spokesman said in a statement.
Brian Kyes, president of the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs and Chelsea’s police chief, said cops need the sweeps to continue.
“The system is working,” said Kyes. “I wouldn’t think the number would be that high, but the mechanism put in place to enhance public safety is working. If there was one or two, the system would be working. With 8,000, I think it’s working really well.”
Gov. Charlie Baker said the checks set “a national standard for driver safety.” Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria agreed.
“Strong background checks are necessary to maintain and improve the safety of ride-for-hire services,” Walsh said.
DeMaria said screening out the bad actors, in light of sexual attacks, overrides all other arguments.
“Our primary responsibility as public officials is to protect the safety and well-being of our residents,” he said. “These statistics show clearly that passengers were potentially at risk before regulations took effect.”
Uber and Lyft drivers have been arrested in a number of high-profile busts, including several instances where the companies said they missed information in a background check that should have disqualified the person from driving.
Late last year, a Lyft driver convicted of a drug charge in 2010 was accused of stabbing a passenger. Abderrahim Dakiri, the Uber driver accused of the 2015 sexual assault, pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and was sentenced to two years probation. The victim and another alleged sexual assault victim from South Carolina sued Uber, claiming the company should have done more to protect riders. That suit was settled out of court.
The regulations stem from the sweeping ride-for-hire law passed and signed last year which requires drivers to get approval from both the companies and the state. Last fall Uber, Lyft and eventually Fasten agreed to let the state conduct the checks beginning in January.