Nineteen women are suing Lyft, saying the company failed to prevent sexual assault by its drivers and then ignored complaints from victims. According to The New York Times Lyft also failed to employ necessary safety measures that could have prevented sexual assault; the women also say that after the alleged assaults occurred Lyft failed to follow up with the complainants.
This latest lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of San Francisco this week, comes after an initial suit filed against Lyft, where 14 women alleged that drivers had assaulted them. Despite Lyft boasting about its safety measures, including a panic button in the app, the company continues to rack up sexual assault accusations. According to the lawyer handling the new suit, the company is also shirking its responsibility to victims as they try to seek justice. “Lyft doesn’t even tell our clients who the driver is so they can get a temporary restraining order,” Michael Bomberger said to The New York Times.
Since the introduction of rideshare platforms like Lyft and Uber, which were offered up as an alternative to hailing a cab and getting into a car with a stranger, more than 200 women have reported being assaulted by drivers. Both Uber and Lyft, the most popular rideshare companies, argue that they are doing everything within their powers to prevent assault by their drivers. Lyft claims to perform criminal background checks on each driver. Both apps include safety features, like the one that allows a rider to share their location with someone in their contact list. Yet the assaults have not gone away or even declined.