Traders work at the New York Stock Exchange during the initial public offering (IPO) of Uber Technologies Inc., in New York, the United States, May 10, 2019.
Uber reported 3,045 sexual assaults during its rides in the United States in 2018, in addition to nine murders and 58 deaths in crashes.
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. ride-hailing company Uber Technologies, Inc. on Thursday disclosed for the first time 3,045 sexual assaults that occurred to passengers and drivers during rides last year.
In an 84-page safety report that examined data from 2017 and 2018 from Uber's ride-sharing platform, the San Francisco-based company said it has received 5,981 reports of sexual assault ranging from non-consensual kissing, groping to rape and attempted rape during the two years.
A total of 235 cases of rape were reported to the company during its 1.3 billion rides in the United States in the past year alone, up from 229 in 2017, said Uber.
Uber based its data on reports from riders and drivers, which means the actual numbers could be much higher as sexual assault often goes under-reported.
"I suspect many people will be surprised at how rare these incidents are; others will understandably think they're still too common," Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi tweeted about the report.
Photo taken on May 3, 2019 shows a parked taxi on a street in Sydney, Australia. A class action lawsuit has been filed against Uber on Friday on behalf of thousands of Australian taxi and car-hire drivers, alleging that the global rideshare giant allowed its drivers to operate without proper accreditation. (Xinhua/Bai Xuefei)
In 2018, over 36,000 people lost their lives in car crashes in the United States alone, and nearly 44 percent of American women have been a victim of sexual violence in their lifetime, posing a big safety challenge to the country.
The company added that its users made 3.1 million trips every day on its platform during the 2017-2018 period.
Uber said nine people were murdered during their rides in Uber vehicles and 58 people died in Uber-related crashes.
Like its rival Lyft, Uber, which went public in May this year, is facing lawsuits over safety issues in the country. ■
