Uber, a leading ridesharing company, has been grappling with a significant issue of sexual assault, a problem that intensifies during late-night hours and weekends - peak times when women often use the service for safety reasons.
Over a span of five years, the company has reportedly received a sexual assault or sexual misconduct report every eight minutes in the United States.
Court documents secured by the New York Times reveal a shocking figure of 400,181 reports of sexual assault and misconduct lodged against Uber between 2017 and 2022. This figure starkly contrasts with the company's portrayal of such incidents as rare occurrences.
Despite having internal teams of data scientists and safety experts studying the issue for years, Uber's efforts to position itself as one of the safest travel options seem to be undermined by these statistics.
According to Breitbart, Uber has developed several safety measures such as matching algorithms, mandatory video recording, and an option for women to select female drivers. However, the company has been criticized for its slow or non-existent implementation of these programs.
Furthermore, Uber has not been transparent with its passengers about the factors that could potentially lead to attacks, as revealed by accounts from over a dozen current and former employees.
Uber's business model, which classifies drivers as independent contractors rather than employees, has been criticized for prioritizing cost-effectiveness over safety. This classification exempts the company from providing minimum wage, overtime, employee benefits, or break times. However, it also means that drivers are not held to the same standards as traditional employees.
The New York Times reports that hundreds of records involving large-scale sexual assault litigation against Uber have been sealed. Hannah Nilles, Ubers head of safety for the Americas, told the New York Times that approximately 75 percent of the 400,181 reports were less serious, including inappropriate comments about someones appearance, flirting, or explicit language.
Nilles also suggested that some reports could be fraudulent, made by users attempting to secure a refund. However, some Uber employees believe that incidents of sexual assault and misconduct are likely underreported due to fears of retaliation or shame.
Uber's internal documents reveal that sexual assaults typically occur late at night, on weekends, and often involve pickups near bars. Women are usually the victims, whether they are passengers or drivers, and men are typically the offenders, regardless of whether they are drivers or passengers.
Uber considered installing cameras in vehicles, suspecting that the threat of being caught on video could deter misconduct. This idea was a response to the ineffectiveness of an algorithmic tool developed by Uber to predict which driver-passenger matches could result in sexual misconduct. Despite internal agreement that the camera plan was practical and cost-effective, the company decided against mandating cameras, citing conflicts with its business model.
No single safety feature or policy is going to prevent unpredictable incidents from happening on Uber, or in our world, Nilles told the New York Times, adding that Uber has implemented a range of safety features.
The first case in the litigation against Uber is set to go to trial next month. It involves a woman from San Jose, California, who reported being sexually assaulted during a ride to the airport. The woman, an 18-year-old college student at the time, claimed that the driver turned down a dark street, ended the trip on the app, and assaulted her.
The incident ended when the woman's phone began buzzing, and she told the driver that her parents were tracking her location. The driver then took her to the airport, but not before threatening to find her at her home. Uber maintains that the driver had passed a background check and that the company had not received any serious complaints about him prior to the incident.
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