How Safe are Rideshare Services?
Listen to this articleThe 21st century has delivered significant changes to the ways we live and do business. With the expansion of internet technology and smartphone devices, many service sector providers have utilized these advances to make their businesses more responsive and convenient. Typical of these changes is the rideshare industry, where independent contractors connect with a brand like Lyft or Uber, to provide a service once exclusively dominated by taxi cabs. Since rideshare drivers are not employees but, instead, vendors, the companies can keep fares relatively low compared to more traditional livery services. Still, who are these drivers, and can they be trusted?
How Does Ride Sharing Work?
Important to remember is that Lyft, Uber and lesser-known rideshare enterprises do not own a fleet of vehicles, nor do they employ drivers. Rather, these businesses are apps, i.e. applications downloaded to a mobile device that allow the ride-seeker to connect with a driver at a given location and at a given hour. The business that runs the app evaluates each driver with whom it affiliates. Once approved, the driver has access to ride requests. When the driver picks up an order, the app will forward identification information — name, photo, vehicle make/model and license plate number — to the customer. Meanwhile, the driver has already agreed to the fare and tip structure set by the company. The customer deposits funds into the app account; these monies are withdrawn when the ride is completed. Crucially, the driver receives compensation from the company as an independent service provider, not an employee. In other words, a request does not obligate the driver to fulfill it.
Are Drivers Trustworthy? What Does Screening Look Like?
Before ever picking up the first passenger, rideshare drivers are subject to background checks covering their traffic histories and any criminal activity. Usually, these checks recur on an annual basis. In addition, the company can ask for updated photos of the driver to verify identity against the information of record. Another important component is the review a passenger might give upon the trip’s completion. If the rider reports suspicious behavior, this report is pursued until resolved. Such safeguards are necessary because even though the driver is self-employed — the individual still represents the brand from pick-up to drop-off.
The major rideshare businesses perform several levels of evaluation before a driver can make a run in their name. With these consistent investigations and verifications, it is rare for a driver to endanger the life or well-being of a passenger. Rare, perhaps, but unheard of?
Incidents and Accidents
In 2020, Uber released some sobering statistics about sexual assaults and accusations of rape against drivers. The Cable News Network (CNN) learned that there were close to 4,000 reports in 2019-2020 of improper sexual behavior — ranging from inappropriate kissing to rape — lodged by passengers. The positive in these numbers is that there was an almost 2,000 incident decrease from the prior two years. Given the billions of rides Uber facilitates per year, the number might appear insignificant if, that is, you are not one of the victims.
Traffic accidents, according to one rule of thumb, are a function of how much one drives, so it is not surprising that rideshare drivers experience them like so many others. While the statistics can be difficult to decipher, the numbers suggest that both Uber trips, as well as taxi trips, have lower accident rates than the national averages for all vehicles on the road. It also must be recognized that these services have rescued many intoxicated people from getting behind the wheel.
When all is said and done, there is a degree of danger in everything we do. Rideshare trips are no exception. Neither are they more dangerous.
