20 More Women Sue Lyft for Alleged Sexual Assault by Drivers

The women join more than 30 others in varying lawsuits who allege they were sexually assaulted, sexually harassed, or kidnapped by drivers.

Twenty more women have come forward to file a lawsuit against Lyft, alleging the company does not properly handle instances of sexual misconduct by drivers.

The women are joining more than 30 others who came forward in August and September in separate lawsuits, who alleged incidences of rape, sexual harassment, sexual assault, and kidnapping from Lyft drivers. The new lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court and claims that Lyft does not properly vet their drivers, and that some drivers target women.

The suit says that Lyft has been aware of issues of assault and harassment by their drivers for four years and has not taken the proper action. It goes on to say that Lyft conceals information from the public when reports of sexual misconduct occur, and that victims are not notified about whether the driver has been terminated or not.

“Lyft riders who report sexual harassment or sexual assault to Lyft’s Trust & Safety Team are often left feeling no better off than had they not reported at all,” the suit claims. “More often than not, [they do] not tell the victim what steps Lyft conducts in an investigation, does not tell the victim if there have been other allegations against the same driver, and does not tell the victim whether the driver has been removed from the platform.”

The lawsuit says that Lyft should be held responsible for victims of sexual assault and harassment, including bills for medical treatment that may be necessary for victims.

The list of lawsuits include a 23-year-old woman who is disabled, who alleges she was sexually assaulted by her driver in May 2019, and another woman who says she fell asleep in the back seat and woke up to her driver on top of her “with his tongue in her mouth.”

After receiving backlash prompted by victims coming forward, Lyft announced new safety features including a panic button that would contact authorities in a potentially dangerous situation, and adding mandatory sexual harassment training for its drivers.

In a statement to NowThis, Lyft said "What these women describe is something no one should ever have to endure. 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. That means continually investing in new features and policies to protect our riders and drivers."

The lawsuits claim that Lyft does not perform adequate background checks and that perpetrators of sexual assault are not held accountable or banned from the platform.

Lyft is the second-largest ride-sharing company in the country following Uber, which has also been sued in connection to its handling of sexual assault of passengers. In 2018, CNN reported that 103 Uber drivers had been accused of sexually assaulting or abusing their passengers in the U.S. over the period of four years.