SAN FRANCISCO — Twenty women who say they were either raped or sexually assaulted by Lyft drivers filed a lawsuit against the company on Wednesday alleging the ride-hailing giant has failed in its efforts to provide adequate safety precautions for its riders.
The suit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, alleges that Lyft “failed to adopt and implement reasonable driver monitoring procedures designed to protect the safety of its passengers,” and the company’s “corporate management … has failed to implement the most basic and rudimentary procedures for the proper investigation of sexual assaults that are reported in their vehicles.”
“Lyft has a sexual assault epidemic going on in its vehicles, and they haven’t done anything to fix it,” said Mike Bomberger of the San Diego-based law firm Etsey & Bomberger, which is representing the plaintiffs in the case, in an interview. “Lyft’s executives are tone deaf to this problem and the need to really address it.”
The lawsuit is seeking an unspecified amount in damages to account for matters such as the plaintiffs’ medical costs, general damages, past and future emotional distress and punitive damages against Lyft.
At a press conference in San Francisco to announce the suit, one of the plaintiffs, Caroline Miller, of Cartersville, Georgia, described an incident in which she said that she was in a Lyft vehicle after a night out to celebrate her birthday. Miller said she decided to take a nap in the car at about 3 a.m., and that when she awoke, “The (Lyft) driver had his hand down my pants, (and was) groping and then raping me.”
Bomberger said that, at the very least, Lyft should begin digitally recording all of its rides so that drivers will know that someone is watching their behavior.
“If that driver knew that there was a camera on him, do you think that these kinds of things would happen?” Bomberger said. “These kinds of incidents would be reduced exponentially.”
In a statement, a Lyft spokesperson stressed the steps the company says it has taken this year to improve the safety of its riders. The spokesperson said that one in five employees at the company have been dedicated to initiatives designed to strengthen the platform’s safety, including daily continuous criminal background monitoring of all drivers.
In September, Lyft announced a set of new safety features, including the ability for riders to contact 911 emergency services directly from the Lyft app, and a feature called “Smart Trip Check-In” that allows riders and drivers to contact a support team in the event a ride is having unexplained delays or is going on a route that either the rider or driver believes is dangerous.
The company also said it would partner with the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network to offer safety education and training to all of its drivers.
“What these women describe is something no one should ever have to endure,” said the Lyft spokesperson. “Everyone deserves the ability to move about the world safely, yet women still face disproportionate risks. We recognize these risks, which is why we are relentless in our work to build safety into every aspect of our work..”
But Miller wasn’t buying any of Lyft’s claims.
“I had to alert them (Lyft) myself (about her allegations) two days later,” Miller said. “They had no idea. That’s ridiculous.”
Etsey & Bomberger’s suit follows a similar suit the firm filed in September on behalf of 14 other women who claimed to be either raped or sexually assaulted by Lyft drivers.