Yesterday Uber released its long-anticipated report on crime statistics involving Uber riders and drivers. The report found that during 2018, there were 9 murders and more than 3000 reported sexual assaults that occurred during Uber rides. The report raises concerns with how companies can use technology in a way that sacrifices safety for convenience. To extend past Uber, one could compare this to autonomous driving, another piece of technology that offers a higher level of convenience despite ethical concerns. When considering these technologies, it is easy to see that sometimes safety becomes a lower priority than convenience and marketability, even when both convenience and safety can exist within the same product.
It’s hard to deny the fact that Uber has created a system that is incredibly convenient for both drivers and riders, which has contributed to its level of success as a company. At its simplest, Uber acts as a matching service for people who need a ride and people who have cars and want some cash. At the same time, one does not have to think about the idea behind Uber for long to recognize that there are a few flaws in the whole idea. First of all, Uber drivers are treated as freelance workers, and undergo backgrounds checks that are much less extensive than those required by traditional taxi services. John Roman, a senior fellow at NORC at the University of Chicago, also points out that the contractor employment model maintained by Uber leads both drivers and riders to take the whole thing less seriously. Being an Uber driver is more like a gig than a real job, which leads to a lower level of concern of being fired when compared to traditional jobs. Uber drivers are also using their personal cars, which almost never have a divider between the rider(s) and driver. The article that I read pointed out a study that suggested Baltimore’s assault rate for taxi drivers dropped dramatically after the city passed mandates that forced all taxi cars to have dividers separating the driver from the rider(s). While the idea of Uber offers a level of convenience that has contributed to its popularity, its undeniable that it creates a system that can put both riders and drivers at risk.
The article also points out that Uber is taking steps to make their service safer for everyone involved. Releasing a crime report in the first place was a good step in acknowledging the problem, and the act has been praised by assault survivor advocacy groups. Recently Uber has also released new safety features, with a new system coming out that will allow riders to automatically transmit their location to the police after they text 911 through the Uber app. They also have a new optional PIN feature that verifies that riders are in the correct Uber vehicle. It’s nice to see that the company is taking the whole thing seriously and recognizing their responsibility in the issue. I think that companies like Uber show why technological skepticism is so important. While the steps that are currently being taken by Uber are good, it would have been better if they were taken ten years ago when the company started. One could argue that Uber is only doing something now because safety concerns are impacting their service’s marketability, which is something they have not had to worry about as much in their early years.
https://www.wired.com/story/criminologist-uber-crime-report-highly-alarming/
https://ridesharecentral.com/uber-lyft-background-checks-safety