Uber, Lyft to share information on drivers banned for ‘most serious’ safety incidents

Uber and Lyft are partnering on a safety program to share information about drivers who have been banned from their platforms for “the most serious” safety incidents, the companies announced Thursday. 

Under the Sharing Safety Program the two ride-hailing companies will share information about drivers and delivery people who have been deactivated for incidents including sexual assault and physical assaults resulting in a fatality. 

The information sharing will be administered through a third-party background screening company, HireRight, which will collect and manage data from the companies and share the information between them. 

Going forward, the shared safety information will be open to other transportation and delivery networks within the U.S. that agree to a set of requirements about data accuracy and communication, according to the announcement. 

The push comes as the apps have faced criticism and legal challenges over how they handle allegations of assault. 

Uber released a safety report in 2019 that disclosed about 6,000 reports of sexual assault between 2017 and 2018. 

After the report was released, the California Public Utilities Commission called for Uber to provide detailed information on the assault claims. Uber has pushed back on the call to do so, arguing it would violate victims’ rights to privacy. 

Lyft has reportedly said it is delaying the release of its own safety report as it awaits the resolution on the dispute between Uber and the California regulator.