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Uber reports more than 3,000 sexual assaults on 2018 rides

Published:Friday | December 6, 2019 | 10:28 AM
This Wednesday, June 21, 2017, file photo shows the building that houses the headquarters of Uber, in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Uber, as part of a long-anticipated safety report, revealed that more than 3,000 sexual assaults were reported during its United States rides in 2018.

That figure includes 235 rapes across the company’s 1.3 billion rides last year.

The ride-hailing company noted that drivers and riders were both attacked and that some assaults occurred between riders.

The Thursday report, which the company hailed as the first of its kind, provides a rare look into the traffic deaths, murders and reported sexual assaults that took place during billions of rides arranged in the US using Uber’s service. It is part of the company’s effort to be more transparent after years of criticism over its safety record.

In 2017, the company counted 2,936 reported sexual assaults — including 229 rapes — during 1 billion US trips.

Uber bases its numbers on reports from riders and drivers, meaning the actual numbers could be much higher. Sexual assaults commonly go unreported.

“I suspect many people will be surprised at how rare these incidents are; others will understandably think they’re still too common,” Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi tweeted about the report.

“Some people will appreciate how much we’ve done on safety; others will say we have more work to do. They will all be right.”

Uber’s share price dropped more than 1% in after-hours trading.

Uber and competitor Lyft have faced harsh criticism for not doing enough to protect the safety of their riders and drivers.

Dozens of women are suing Lyft, claiming the company should have done more to protect them from driver assaults.

A Connecticut woman sued Uber last month, claiming she was sexually assaulted by her driver.

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