3,000 sexual assaults on 2018 rides, Uber reports

SAN FRANCISCO — More than 3,000 sexual assaults were reported during U.S. Uber rides in 2018, the company said in a long-awaited safety report.

That figure includes 229 rapes across the company’s 1.3 billion rides.

Uber noted that drivers and riders were both attacked, and that some assaults occurred between riders.

In 2017, the company said 2,936 sexual assaults were reported. Uber bases its numbers on reports from riders and drivers — meaning the actual numbers could be much higher. Sexual assaults commonly go unreported.

“I suspect many people will be surprised at how rare these incidents are; others will understandably think they’re still too common,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi tweeted about the report. “Some people will appreciate how much we’ve done on safety; others will say we have more work to do. They will all be right.”

Uber and competitor Lyft have faced a backlash for not doing enough to protect the safety of riders and drivers. Dozens of women are suing Lyft, claiming the company should have done more to protect them from driver assaults. A Connecticut woman sued Uber last month, claiming she was sexually assaulted by her driver. Uber’s safety report is the first of its kind, the company said in a tweet.

“Keeping this information in the dark doesn’t make anyone safer,” Uber said in a statement announcing the report. It plans to release its safety report every two years going forward.

Mike Bomberger, a lawyer representing more than 100 victims of sexual assault in lawsuits against Uber and Lyft, said he applauds Uber for releasing the numbers.

“One of the problems with both of these companies is that they have hidden and have tried to conceal the number of sexual assaults that occur in their vehicles,” he said.

Bomberger said he believes 80% to 90% of the assaults in the Uber report could have been prevented by measures such as cameras in the cars recording rides and the companies reporting each assault learns of to the police.

The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network said it appreciated Uber’s transparency.

“This is an issue that affects every institution in America,” RAINN press secretary Erinn Robinson said in a statement. She added that organizations in every industry, including education, should “make a similar effort to track and analyze sexual misconduct within their communities.”

There were 107 deaths from crashes in 2017 and 2018, from 97 crashes reported to Uber. Uber says this represents half of the U.S. rate for fatal crashes.

Sexual assault in the report is defined broadly into categories including nonconsensual kissing of a nonsexual body part, attempted nonconsensual sexual penetration, nonconsensual touching of a sexual body part, nonconsensual kissing of a sexual body part and nonconsensual sexual penetration.

The company also said Uber rides involved in nine murders during 2018.

Uber noted the vast majority — 99.9% — of rides did not have any reported safety issues. it