On Thursday, the ride-hailing company Lyft has released its 16-page safety report which shows 4,158 sexual assaults that occurred between 2017 and 2019.
There were 1,096 in 2017, 1,255 in 2018, and 1,807 in 2019. The reports indicate that within the time span, the number of assaults increased by 65%.
The company maintains the frequency of serious safety incidents is ‘statistically very rare,” NBC News reported.
While the number of assaults increased over the years, Lyft says its number of rides also increased.
The reports have been investigated by correspondences with drivers and riders, third-party statements, route data, and police reports. However, the incident reports did not provide a statistical breakdown of who was assaulted—riders or drivers. It was also not confirmed which party committed the assault.
A spokesperson said that the company is focusing on making rides as safe as possible for both riders and drivers.
“Safety is fundamental to Lyft,” John Zimmer, co-founder and president, said in the report. “That means creating features and policies to give riders and drivers peace of mind, and being clear about what happens on our platform.”
