Sexual Assault Reporting: Are Ride Share Companies More Concerned with Protecting their Riders or Drivers?

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

In recent years, the modern adaptation to transportation has resulted in the creation of multiple rideshare applications. With this influx of technology, a new opportunity for criminal offending has emerged (Cutterlaw, 2022). Rideshare companies work to ensure the safety of their customers. However, Lyft and Uber have both been criticized for the abundance of sexual assault allegations (Medina, 2019). In 2018, Uber reported 3,000 sexual assaults documented in the app (Paul, 2021). Lyft published in 2019 that the number of sexual assaults reported to the application has risen from 1,096 to 1,807 in two years (Paul, 2021). Both rideshare companies have been documented to handle these allegations internally (Paul, 2021). Research around the effectiveness of internal investigations is limited. Many victims in 2019 reported that these companies failed to protect their riders effectively and efficiently (Paul, 2019). Some lawsuits document that more attention is focused on the driver's safety rather than the rider's safety. This poster offers suggestions for future research and highlights the pros and cons of internal investigations within ride share applications.

Authors

• Sydney Borba, Boise State University

• Abby Neef, Boise State University

• Avery Cooper, Boise State University