Uber has released its second US Safety Report giving details of events that have taken place during its rides in the US.
The report covers the years 2019 and 2020 and Uber said it reflected the impact of COVID-19 on business and trends across the US.
The report showed the vast majority of trips on Uber–more than 99.9 percent –are completed without any safety report at all.
It also shows there were 3,824 reports across the five most severe categories of sexual assault and misconduct. Compared to the first Safety Report, which covered 2017 and 2018, the rate of sexual assault reported on the Uber app decreased by 38 per cent.
Uber’s motor vehicle fatality rate is still half the national average. Consistent with national trends, more than half of the motor vehicle fatalities highlighted in the report include at least one risky behavior, such as impairment or speeding—and 94 per cent were related to third-party drivers. Third parties were also the accused party in the majority of physical assault fatalities.
“To be clear, disclosing our safety data doesn’t mean Uber’s platform is less safe—it means we’re being more honest about the rare safety incidents that do occur,” said Uber in a statement.
“Most companies won’t talk about these tough issues, but pretending they don’t exist only leaves everyone less safe. So we hope stakeholders, regulators and others will recognize, support and encourage proactive transparency efforts—not blunt them.
“We want Uber to be the safest way to go anywhere and get anything, and we’ll continue to lead by taking an expert-driven, action-oriented, and transparent approach. And because safety should never be proprietary, we’ll encourage others to be more open themselves and to work together to improve safety for our industry and beyond.”
