Uber and Lyft Safer Than Public Transportation
Earlier this week, CNN reported that “103 Uber drivers and 18 Lyft drivers have allegedly raped, forcibly touched or kidnapped passengers, among other crimes”. There are active investigations into the company by the Attorneys General of California, Colorado, Massachusetts and Texas and Uber itself has hired the former US Secretary of Homeland Security as chairman of its Safety Advisory Board.
The companies, which currently use a third party background screening service AND check against national sex offender registries are accused of not doing enough to screen drivers, but what more can they do?
The two ride sharing programs give rides to more than one million people PER DAY! Uber provided 2.4 BILLION rides in the US during the same period that CNN discovered the 103 allegations of sexual assault (and ‘other crimes’) against their drivers.. Do the math… If you can.
If one billion is 1,000 million… your chances of getting sexually assaulted in an Uber are less than getting struck by lightning TWICE in your lifetime (1 in 9 million). Less than winning the Powerball (one in 292 million)! When you consider CDC statistics (https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/sv-datasheet-a.pdf) for instances of sexual assualt (1:5 women during their lifetime) in the context of 2.4 billion Uber rides, an Uber might be one of the safest places to be!
Yet, Uber and Lyft are under attack. But what do we know? With them already banning registered sex offenders from driving for them, these sexual assaults are NOT being committed by registrants. We also know that ride sharing is much safer than public transportation. (see: https://nypost.com/2017/10/23/public-transportation-is-a-nightmare-for-women-everywhere/).
The danger of what comes next is concerning. Either legislators will step in to impose laws that will effectively shut down ride sharing programs (ironically in favor of the less-safe public transportation). Or, heightened background checks will be required which will (a) drive up the cost for Uber and Lyft customers, (b) cause rehabilitated individuals who are just trying to earn a living to lose their source of income and (b) still not reduce the instances of offense, since it’s not recidivists who are offending.
Agreed, that one instance of sexual assault is too many, but are we using these statistics to make a mountain out of a mole hill?
Registrants are banned in many places even from driving licensed taxis as it here in county where I live. Fact is that registrants are far less likely to act out against passengers then the people UBER and LYFT are using statistically. But then again we all know that registration is a farce dreamed up by politicians to make the public “feel safe” and show the pols as having done something to protect the public against us.
It’s a #metoo world. How hard is it to understand that 1.) Not all customers are honest., 2.) Some customers are not mentally balanced. 3.)Law suits are popular.