11/6/2023 0 Comments Lyft near me![]() Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman from member station KQED in San Francisco has the story.ĪZUL DAHLSTROM-ECKMAN, BYLINE: On a recent Friday evening in San Francisco's Mission District, people are starting their weekend at a queer bar called Mother. The new feature comes after numerous lawsuits accused the company of not doing enough to protect its customers from sexual assault and harassment. It gives nonbinary and women drivers priority to be matched with nonbinary and women riders. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.The ride-hailing platform Lyft has rolled out a new service in five select cities called Women+ Connect. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR. Lyft says it plans to expand Women+ Connect to about 30 more cities in the coming weeks and months, eventually going nationwide.įor NPR News, I'm Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman in San Francisco. And he pointed to other Lyft safety features like real-time tracking of rides. But he did say that a new program will allow drivers to record if they want to. RISHER: But every single time one happens, we look at it really seriously, and we try to figure out, what could we have done better?ĭAHLSTROM-ECKMAN: Risher says he doesn't think it's the right idea to record all rides, citing privacy concerns. And we take safety so seriously.ĭAHLSTROM-ECKMAN: He says that sexual assaults on Lyft account for less than 1% of total rides. Lyft CEO David Risher, meanwhile, maintains this new feature wasn't prompted by the lawsuits.ĭAVID RISHER: It's not a response to that, but it does recognize, look, we live in a world where bad things happen. She says fingerprint, background checks and dash cams would make rides safer. SIMES: Lyft should have been more careful in the selection of their drivers, and should be more careful in monitoring what goes on in the cars.ĭAHLSTROM-ECKMAN: Simes welcomes the new feature, but says it's just a start. She says hundreds of lawsuits have been filed by her firm and others, alleging that Lyft hasn't done enough to protect its riders and drivers. LAUREL SIMES: They run the gamut from dirty talk and inappropriate comments, to grabbing and groping, all the way up to full sexual assault and rape.ĭAHLSTROM-ECKMAN: Laurel Simes is an attorney representing plaintiffs in an ongoing lawsuit against Lyft. That's the most recent data available from the company. There were more than 1,800 reported cases of sexual assault during Lyft rides in 2019. You know, I have agility.ĭAHLSTROM-ECKMAN: For years, Lyft and other ride-hailing companies like Uber have been facing pressure to do more to address sexual assault and harassment in their rides. ![]() ![]() She says she relies on herself for safety. It's just, you know, priority.ĭAHLSTROM-ECKMAN: But as a driver, it doesn't really make her feel safer because she still has to pick up male passengers. KIVA HENDERSON: Out of all the changes that they've made, I think this is one they should have made a long time ago 'cause the technology is always there. She's been driving for Lyft for almost eight years. MORIZONO: But I feel like my last, I don't know, 20 drivers were all men.ĭAHLSTROM-ECKMAN: The company says it wants to encourage more gender diversity among its drivers and make rides, quote, "more comfortable for women and nonbinary people."ĭAHLSTROM-ECKMAN: The new feature doesn't guarantee a match with a woman or nonbinary person. It's looking for a driver.ĭAHLSTROM-ECKMAN: Lyft estimates about half of its riders are women, but only about 23% of its drivers are. So my colleague Chloe Morizono and I tested it out.ĬHLOE MORIZONO, BYLINE: OK. She's had some creepy drivers.īRIANNA ANDREWS: I honestly pretend to be married, like, most times.ĭAHLSTROM-ECKMAN: She says if she knew her late-night driver wouldn't be a man.ĭAHLSTROM-ECKMAN: Women+ Connect is only a few weeks old, and nobody in Mother had tried it. (SOUNDBITE OF COCKTAIL SHAKER BEING SHAKEN)ĭAHLSTROM-ECKMAN: Bartender Brianna Andrews (ph), who uses she/her pronouns, says that when it's time to leave, she doesn't feel safe using a ride-hailing app. AZUL DAHLSTROM-ECKMAN, BYLINE: On a recent Friday evening in San Francisco's Mission District, people are starting their weekend at a queer bar called Mother.
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