Lyft slept on sex assaults: suits

Lyft’s image as the “woke” ride-hailing company faces a new challenge from a rash of lawsuits filed by women who claim they were sexually assaulted by drivers summoned to take them home after partying.

Since Aug. 1, seven female passengers have sued the company in San Francisco, its corporate base, and lawyers at the firm representing the riders say there are more complaints to come.

Lyft co-founder and President John Zimmer described the startup to Time magazine in 2017 as “woke” in contrast to Uber, which was amid a sex harassment scandal. But on Monday, an attorney leading the Lyft cases said that that isn’t what she’s found while working with scores of female clients who blame both companies for failing to protect them from predatory drivers.

Private negotiations to try to head off litigation have gone better with Uber than with Lyft, lawyer Laurel Simes said, adding that she wants both companies to do more extensive background checks to weed out dangerous drivers and to install video monitors in ride-hail vehicles.

Lyft had no immediate comment on the new suits. Uber also had no immediate comment.

Lyft is already facing public scrutiny after the Washington Post and NBC’s “Today” show recently reported on allegations of harassment from female customers. The reports raises questions about Lyft’s ability to differentiate itself from Uber, which has long struggled to fend off criticism that it doesn’t do enough to ensure rides are safe. Both companies went public this year.