The story contains descriptions of sexual assault that may be upsetting to some readers.
Last names have been omitted to protect the identities of these women and in some cases, the names have been changed for privacy reasons.
Tara, a former elementary school English teacher who lives in Charleston, South Carolina, had been driving for the ride-sharing service for about two years when she had her first bad experience with a customer. She picked up a man outside of a bar several years ago. The man exposed himself to her a few minutes into the ride.
Tara said that she reported the passenger. She was assured by the company that she wouldn't be riding with that rider again, but she didn't know if he could use the app in the future.
Tara was waiting for a surge of requests with other female drivers at the same bar in Charleston. She told them what had happened. She was surprised that both women told her that they had picked up the same passenger.
Both women said that they had picked up the same passenger.
Tara is not the only one with a story. In interviews with over 25 female rideshare drivers across the country, their experiences vary from having passengers flirt with them, to soliciting them for sex, or making unwanted advances toward them. Many people have taken to carrying pepper spray or other defensive weapons in their vehicles in defiance of the app company's policies. All of the drivers said that they don't feel supported or protected by the companies that they work for.
One driver said it felt like they didn't care about safety.
:noupscale is a file on thechorusasset.com.
4,000 sexual assault claims were revealed in the first-ever safety reportsd by Lyft. The safety report from the ride-sharing company showed over 3000 sexual assault claims. Three years have passed since an update was released by the company. The majority of the claims came from drivers who said they were victims of sexual assault from their passengers.
Over the last few years, the attention has been on passenger safety, which has led to the introduction of more safety measures for their customers. Female customers of both companies are accusing both companies of failing to protect them from rape or assault.
New drivers on both companies have to go through a background check before they can drive. Both drivers and customers can now use an in-app panic button that automatically contacts a dispatch and shares the caller's location.
In 2020, all new drivers in the US and Canada will have to complete sexual assault and misconduct training as part of the company's partnership with RAINN.
Many drivers say these efforts aren't enough.
When a driver is attacked, they don't do enough. Safety should be for everyone. It shouldn't be one-sided, and the way that these companies do it, it feels more one-sided, they don't worry as much about their drivers.
Safety should be for everyone.
The death of a pregnant driver in Arizona in January of this year renewed conversations about driver safety. Many female drivers say that they don't feel safer two years later.
Passengers don't have to complete background checks or sexual harassment training before they can open an account. The sign-up process could be slowed down because of the additional measures, despite the fact that they make it safer for drivers.
If passengers use a gift card or a pre-paid card, there is no need for identity verification. If a report is made against them, they can still use fake names and accounts, making it harder for them to be identified.
Rideshare drivers are classified as independent contractors, which means they don't have the protections of regular employees. The right to collective bargaining for better working conditions, dashboard cameras, and company-supplied equipment are all denied to them.
Many drivers appreciate the freedom and flexibility that contract work allows but become frustrated when they feel they are not supported by the companies.
:noupscale is a file on thechorusasset.com
Tara recalls driving a group of drunk men back to the golf resort in Charleston, South Carolina, a few months after the first incident.
She had one man left to leave. She remembered that he was still drunk and flirting with her as he sat in the front seat. Tara was reading a book on the dashboard. She was on page 262.
If you are reading Stephen King, he said, you must be smart.
Tara drove cautiously and ignored him. She waited for him to get out of the car. Tara said that the man began making advances towards her. She resisted. She had her keys in the car. He slapped her hand as she reached for the car door after she tried to sound the car horn. Tara was cold.
The passenger's friends came back and took him back to the hotel. Tara cried in her car after they left.
I was lucky that he was very drunk.
I was lucky that he was very drunk. She thought back to that night and said that he would have raped her if he hadn't been so drunk. He made me feel weak.
Tara never reported it to the police. She had made reports against passengers in the past, but she was left disappointed by the lack of action from both law enforcement and the ride-sharing company. She assumed that the incident would be reported again.
Tara has an audio recording of the incident but has never given it to law enforcement.
The bookmark in Stephen King's "It" is still on the page. She couldn't finish the book after what happened.
:noupscale is a file on thechorusasset.com
There is a tradeoff between flexibility and protection in gig work. Female drivers value the ability to set their own schedules. The lack of safety measures limits the flexibility that drew them to the work in the first place.
Many female drivers face the decision of whether or not to drive at night. They can make more money at night, but they're more likely to get in trouble with passengers.
Women make up around 25% of the drivers of both Lyft and Uber. Half of the women interviewed for this story said they don't drive at night because of safety reasons. For some, driving at night is necessary in order to make a living, as there is more money to be made, and many drivers have day jobs, so they are only able to drive at night.
The Independent Drivers Guild, a driver-led advocacy group, said there are women who only pick up at the airports. They spend a lot more time waiting between pickup and that limits their income.
Half of the women said they don't drive at night.
More passenger verification, background checks, and subsidized in-vehicle cameras are some of the measures advocated by the Independent Drivers Guild.
Susan is a driver for the ride-sharing service. She drives at night because there is less traffic and more demand.
Susan said that she picked up a man from a club in Houston. She claims that he propositioned her for sex and kept offering her money for sexual favors. She drove a little faster when she declined multiple times. The incident did not escalate because they were right around the corner from his house.
Susan said that she reported this passenger, but she could not locate a copy of the report, so she received a message from Lyft saying that they had unpaired her with this passenger.
They apologized for the incident and said they would make sure you didn't get a ride with him again. We will investigate this. She said that they never know what will happen.
He had a different name this time.
Susan said that she received a message from the rider when she accepted a ride, two years after she originally picked up the passenger. She said that the message said that he did not need a ride but that he began offering her money for sex. Susan looked at the address again and realized it was the same man.
He had a different name this time. She said that she remembered the address where she dropped him off.
Susan immediately canceled the ride. The passenger had been reported in the past to have made a new account with a different name, but she is still frustrated.
Susan said that he is probably still doing the same thing.
:noupscale is a file on thechorusasset.com.
Some female drivers try to find ways to prevent their passengers from doing things that are not safe. The tactics range from putting music on to avoid conversation to forgoing makeup and wearing baggy clothes so they don't look too attractive. Several drivers wear fake wedding rings and tell their passengers that their partners work in law enforcement.
One driver said that men respect other men more than women.
A dashboard camera can help a driver feel safer. The cost can be more than a day's income.
When a rider sees a dash cam, their behavior changes.
Many women admitted to carrying weapons in their cars for protection, from pepper spray and wasp spray to tasers and knives, going against company policy, such as the "No Weapons" policy. According to the website, riders and drivers are not allowed to carry firearms or weapons of any kind while using the app.
Most of the women said that having the weapons easily accessible is important when it comes to safety, especially considering the lack of screening for riders. The importance of protecting themselves from harm is more important than the risk of being deactivated.
I just turn on the taser and it calms them down.
In the past, a driver from Houston, Texas has used a taser on male passengers who have persisted in making her feel uncomfortable even after declining their advances multiple times.
She said that the taser calms them down.
Many drivers feel more protected because they rely on significant others or family members to keep an eye on them.
The safety measures of the two companies are defended by their drivers and passengers. When asked if they were committed to safety, a spokeswoman from the company said that they were.
Page said in an email that they remained steadfast in their commitment to safety. New safety features, processes, and policies have been pioneered by us.
The new features and policies that have been implemented in the last few years are focused on passenger and driver safety. These include but are not limited to having launched a dedicated survivor support hotline, an in-app emergency button as well as educational videos, developed with RAINN, which are sent to riders and drivers when they receive a report of inappropriate behavior.
The system that prevents people who have been previously deactivated from making a new account is currently in place.
The new rider verification system was announced last year. This feature only applies to passengers who use anonymous forms of payment.
:noupscale is a file on thechorusasset.com
Many drivers gather in Facebook groups to get advice, share stories, and meet other drivers, because they are lonely and can't always find someone to talk to.
In November of 2021, Allison shared in a female-only drivers group on Facebook that she had reported a passenger for making unwanted advances towards her. She said that she had been told that they had dealt with the passenger. She said that they sent her another email saying they couldn't find the ride, leaving her unsure if she would pick him up again.
She said that she provided additional information to the company, but never heard back.
She said that they are so vulnerable.
According to a spokeswoman for the company, safety is a priority and that they are constantly designing features and policies to make it easier for riders to ride safely. The in-app emergency help button is one of the features pointed out in the email. Both of these features have been well received by drivers.
When we receive safety reports, it's our policy to take additional action, which can include investigating internally, gathering additional information from riders and drivers, and deactivating the accounts used, said Adams in an email.
In certain markets, they are working on ways to identify and take action against high-risk rider accounts. The accounts were temporarily and permanently deactivating, blocking users from creating new accounts, and requiring riders to submit additional information before requesting a ride.
The accounts of drivers or riders who engage in such behavior or otherwise violate our Community Guidelines are permanently removed from the platform, Adams said in an email.
:noupscale is a file on thechorusasset.com.
Tara created a local Facebook group for drivers in the area. She met a 60-year-old former special education teacher, who was driving in the same area, through it. They became friends very quickly.
Tara andCathy were keeping an eye on each other. They would meet at a Walmart parking lot in Charleston to take a nap after work, which would take about two hours to get to.
We had each other. Tara said that if she was gone too long, she would call to make sure she was okay. If I didn't hear from her for a while, I would call her and make sure everything was okay.
They still drive on busy days like Thanksgiving, even though they stopped driving full-time recently. They are still friends. Both Tara andCathy hope that the companies start doing a better job of protecting their drivers, holding their passengers accountable, and responding to sensitive incidents, such as sexual assault and harassment.
Tara said that she wished she had had someone to support her during her first few years on the job, but that she was grateful for the years that they were able to support each other.
She said that they had to create a buddy system and keep track of each other to make sure they were safe. We supported each other when they didn't.
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