Uber and Lyft are promising more safety initiatives, but Chicago is going to have to wait for Uber’s “verify your ride” feature that started in seven cities Tuesday.
The feature, which involves riders receiving a unique four-digit PIN to provide to drivers, is starting in Atlanta, Nashville, Sacramento, Phoenix, Dallas, Denver, and Philadelphia, but not yet in bigger markets like Chicago and New York City. The driver will only be able to start a trip once the correct PIN has been entered.
Uber spokeswoman Kayla Whaling did not know when the additional safety measure would be available in Chicago, except to say that it’s “in the future.”
“This added layer of verification can help ensure riders get in the right car and drivers are picking up the correct rider,” Whaling said.
Last week, Uber said more than 3,000 sexual assaults were reported during its U.S. ride-sharing trips in 2018. The company, the largest ride-share provider, said incidents of sexual assault are rare, as the company averages more than 3 million trips each day. Uber also found that drivers were the victims in nearly half of sexual assault cases.
Whaling said she was unable to provide numbers in the company’s safety report for Chicago or Illinois.
Data from the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection shows that a total of 327 Uber, Lyft or Via ride-share drivers were fired between Jan. 1, 2016 and Aug. 20, 2019 because of complaints of sexual misconduct.
Those firings accounted for 29% of the 1,120 drivers fired during that time period, according to the city.
Other issues that got drivers kicked off of ride-share platforms in Chicago were complaints about illegal drug use and possession and traffic incidents that resulted in police reports or insurance claims.
The city requires ride-share companies to report incidents involving drivers who have been fired after being accused of certain behaviors ranging from battery to a traffic crash to rape.
Sexual misconduct firings in Chicago have increased both because of a rise in the number of trips and an expansion of Uber’s definition of sexual misconduct, which now includes a driver asking a passenger for a date, Whaling said.
Both Uber and Lyft say they are trying to prevent sexual assault during ride-sharing trips by better educating drivers.
In 2020, Uber plans to expand sexual misconduct and assault education for all U.S. drivers and is working with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network or RAINN, the nation’s largest sexual violence organization, to design the program, Whaling said. Lyft also is working with RAINN on a safety education program, which drivers are required to complete by Sunday, according to Lyft’s web site.
Both companies offer in-app access to 911.
In October, Lyft teamed up with security company ADT to develop new safety features in nine markets, including Chicago, in early 2020.
Uber wants to share the names of drivers who have been banned from the platform with other ride-sharing companies. Doing so would mean an Uber driver reported for sexual assault in Chicago couldn’t then drive for Lyft in Milwaukee, Whaling said.
There are currently more than 67,000 active ride-share drivers in Chicago, a category that includes drivers who make four or more trips a month, according to the city. The city did not break down which ride-share provider had fired the most drivers.
Ride-share providers are required to notify the city within 48 hours of firing a driver for safety reasons. It is the only rule of its kind in the nation and allows the city’s Business Affairs and Consumer Protection to then notify other ride-share providers of the incident, spokesman Isaac Reichman said.
The city can fine ride-share companies for failing to report the firing of a driver. This past summer, the city of Chicago fined Lyft $10,000 for failing to report that it fired a driver for allegedly attacking a customer in July 2018. Two months after the attack, the same driver allegedly killed a cab driver.
Last year, Chicago took “strong enforcement actions” against ride-share companies for not fully adhering to background check requirements, leading to a $10 million settlement plus an agreement that ride-share companies must audit their safety verification processes and report the audits to the city on a regular basis, Reichman said.
While the number of firings involving complaints about sexual misconduct have risen in recent years, the number of complaints about traffic crashes or other incidents has gone down, from 137 in 2016 to 67 in 2018, according to city data.
Whaling said there may be cases in which a driver can be “reactivated,” if a complaint is proven unfounded. For example, if a driver is accused of driving under the influence, and a police investigation finds that it is not true, a driver could be reinstated.
