Uber says 3,000 sexual assaults during U.S. rides were reported in 2018, The Washington Post reports. In a safety report released Thursday, the ride-hailing company said it recorded 235 instances of rape and thousands more instances of assault. According to NPR, 5,981 accusations of assault were reported in both 2017 and 2018—with claims including unwanted touching, kissing, and rape. Between 2017 and 2018, the average rate of sexual assault reports reportedly decreased. However, experts have attested to the common underreporting of sexual assaults—indicating that the true numbers could be much higher. The safety report also disclosed 107 deaths in crashes involving Uber vehicles in 2017 and 2018, and another 19 deaths involving physical assaults during or soon after an Uber ride. “At the scale that Uber operates, we’re going to see both the good and the bad that happens in society because we’re operating so many trips every single day,” Uber chief legal officer Tony West told NPR. The safety report comes as ride-hailing companies have been criticized for their safety practices, with competitor Lyft sued over alleged rape and assaults. Lyft has also promised to put out a safety report, but it is unclear when it will be released.
