www.washingtonpost.com Open in urlscan Pro
23.37.45.67  Public Scan

Form analysis
0 forms found in the DOM

Text Content

Accessibility statementSkip to main content
Search Navigation
Democracy Dies in Darkness

Subscribe

Sign in



Advertisement


Close

This article was published more than 3 years ago

The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness
Tech
Help Desk
Future of Transportation
Innovations
Internet Culture
Space
Tech Policy
Video Gaming
Tech
Help Desk
Future of Transportation
Innovations
Internet Culture
Space
Tech Policy
Video Gaming
Technology


WHEN RIDES GO WRONG: HOW UBER’S INVESTIGATIONS UNIT WORKS TO LIMIT THE COMPANY’S
LIABILITY


INVESTIGATORS SAY DRIVERS GET THREE “STRIKES” FOR BAD BEHAVIOR — AND MAY JUST
END UP DRIVING FOR LYFT.

By Greg Bensinger
September 26, 2019 at 11:25 a.m. EDT

A traveler holds a mobile device while waiting at a ride app pickup location at
Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in California. (Allison Zaucha/Bloomberg
News)
Comment on this story
Comment
257
Gift Article
Share

PHOENIX — Inside the 23-story Bank of America Tower in downtown Phoenix, a team
of nearly 80 specialized workers grapples with some of the worst incidents that
happen in Uber rides. Armed with little more than a phone headset and GPS ride
data, these agents in the Special Investigations Unit have to figure out what
went wrong.



Tech is not your friend. We are. Sign up for The Tech Friend
newsletter.ArrowRight


But when they make a determination, the SIU investigators are coached by Uber to
act in the company’s interest first, ahead of passenger safety, according to
interviews with more than 20 current and former investigators. Uber has a
three-strikes system, investigators said, but executives have made exceptions to
keep drivers on the road. For instance, a New York-area driver allegedly made
three separate sexual advances on riders, said an investigator assigned to the
case. After an executive overruled the investigator, the driver was allowed to
continue working until a fourth incident, when a rider claimed he raped her.

The agents are forbidden by Uber from routing allegations to police or from
advising victims to seek legal counsel or make their own police reports, even
when they get confessions of felonies, said Lilli Flores, a former investigator
in Phoenix — a guideline corroborated in interviews with investigators, alleged
victims and plaintiffs’ attorneys.

Listen on Post Reports: How a team of less than 100 people manages some of the
worst incidents that happen in Uber rides

A former Uber employee shared what it is like to investigate complaints of
sexual assault and harassment. Editor's note: This video has been updated.
(Video: Greg Bensinger/The Washington Post)

“Investigators are there first to protect Uber; and then next to protect the
customer,” said Flores, who worked nearly two years for Uber as an investigator
and investigations trainer before leaving in November. “Our job is to keep the
tone of our conversations with customers and drivers so that Uber is not held
liable.”

Advertisement

Story continues below advertisement



Even in the most severe cases, when Uber kicks drivers off the platform, it
doesn’t convey the information to police, other ride-share companies or
background check firms, investigators said, steps that could prevent the driver
from working for other companies.

Uber’s investigative process is broken, according to people who have worked
there, stymied by Uber’s insistence that its drivers are independent contractors
and not employees — and therefore it isn’t responsible for their actions. As a
result of its transformation of transportation, Uber has created new risks for
riders and drivers that it largely keeps at arm’s length — even more so as it is
under financial pressure from a bungled IPO.

Subscribe on:
close
Alexa Apple PodcastsGoogle Podcasts Spotify Stitcher TuneIn RadioPublic
iHeartRadio RSS

Post Reports | Podcast
Uber says safety is its first priority. Employees aren’t so sure.
Subscribe

0:00
backward
15
play
forward
15
29:15



Uber disputes the allegations by investigators that protecting the company comes
first. “We created the SIU team not to shelter us from legal liability, but to
provide specialized customer support to riders and drivers dealing with very
serious real-life situations,” Uber spokeswoman Jodi Page said in a statement.
“Characterizing this team as anything but providing support to people after a
difficult experience is just wrong. We will continue to put safety at the heart
of everything we do and implement new approaches, based on expert guidance, to
the benefit of both our customers and employees.”

Advertisement

Story continues below advertisement



But investigators say Uber’s process leaves bad actors on the road. One
investigator recalled the San Francisco driver who purportedly forced his way
into the back seat and put his hand up a passenger’s blouse before she struggled
free. Another heard from riders that their driver threatened them with a hammer
hidden under his seat. Neither lost their driving privileges at the time.

Flores said in her time there about one-third of cases handled by investigators
dealt with sexual misconduct, including rape or unwanted flirtation or advances.

Sen. Blumenthal assails how Uber and Lyft deal with driver misconduct following
Washington Post report

The process can fail victims because they often have no idea if their concerns
have been addressed, riders and drivers said. Sara Alfageeh alleged that her
driver held her and a friend captive on the freeway near Charlotte, turning a
15-minute drive into a 45-minute one by driving the wrong way to “continue the
conversation.” After reporting it to Uber and speaking with an investigator, she
said Uber simply refunded her money and said she wouldn’t be matched with the
driver again.

Advertisement

Story continues below advertisement



“There’s no way of knowing if he’s doing this with other riders,” said Alfageeh,
a professional illustrator. Uber confirmed they followed up with her by phone
and refunded her fare.

“At the end of the day, we’re not the judge and jury to determine whether a
crime has occurred,” said Tracey Breeden, Uber’s global head of women’s safety.
“We’re here to gather information, make a business decision. We’re not law
enforcement.”

The investigators said they are taught to avoid asking alleged perpetrators
directly about the claims against them. And to alleged victims, to only offer
condolences that distance Uber from a purported incident: “No one should have to
go through something like that” rather than “I am so sorry that happened to
you.”

Story continues below advertisement



Uber said its responses are designed around empathy and include “I’m so sorry to
hear what you have reported.”

Uber has a reputation problem

Under chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, Uber has said it is “putting safety at
the heart of everything we do,” and the vast majority of Uber’s more than 16
million daily trips end without incident. “Safety is a priority and we’re
certainly doing what we can — whether it’s through our technology or our
programs and initiatives — to put safety first,” Breeden said.

Advertisement


Uber’s policy of not sharing its findings with background check firms,
competitors or law enforcement is about being “survivor-centric,” Breeden said.
“A survivor should be able to own their story, they should be able to want to
choose whether they provide that information to police.”

Story continues below advertisement



But alleged crimes — especially sexual misconduct — happen during ride-hailing
trips at an alarming rate, investigators said. In Chicago alone, more than 300
drivers were banned from Uber, Lyft and rival Via for allegations of sexual
misconduct between January 2016 and August 2019, according to data obtained by a
Freedom of Information Act request.

More than 1,100 of the nearly 70,000 active registered drivers in the city were
barred for matters of safety during that time, according to the data, which
showed that drug use or possession and traffic accidents ranked after sexual
misconduct as the top reasons for a driver being blocked. The number of drivers
blocked from using an app, known as a deactivation, is probably in the thousands
in Chicago for more minor issues, such as faulty paperwork or low passenger
ratings, which don’t require the same disclosure, according to a person familiar
with the matter. If investigators pursued accusations of misconduct more
aggressively, the number of drivers banned would probably be higher, the
investigators said.

Advertisement


Many investigators said they understood that if they contacted the police or
advised victims to do so, they could be reprimanded or even fired. (The
exception, according to investigators, is if a passenger or driver is in
immediate and present danger, such as a burning vehicle.)

Story continues below advertisement



Uber disputed the claim and said “it is the victim’s choice to report an
incident to police, not Uber’s.” The company added that it introduced an option
over a month ago “where we would advise that what is being reported may be a
crime to give people the option to allow us to contact law enforcement on their
behalf.”

Supreme Court rules companies can require workers to accept individual
arbitration

A separate unit, called the Law Enforcement Response Team, or LERT, is used when
police are already involved, such as reported accidents or assaults, and is
staffed primarily with attorneys, former police officers and those with
experience in the field.

Advertisement


Many companies go to great lengths to limit their liability. But gig economy
companies fall in a new category where the question of their liability is still
up in the air. There is a different standard of accountability than for the taxi
industry, where cab companies generally maintain direct control over the
condition and quality of rides and can therefore bear full responsibility for
what happens during a fare, according to fleet managers.

Story continues below advertisement



Uber, on the other hand, argues it’s a platform, a term many tech companies use
to distinguish themselves from the industries that came before them. The
distinction helps shelter the companies from responsibility for what happens in
the course of using their service.

Uber asserts it is a technology platform, or the middleman, between riders and
drivers, and so it generally cannot be held culpable for what occurs during a
ride. Earlier this month, discussing its opposition to a new California labor
law that could convert contract drivers to employee status, Uber contended that
“drivers’ work is outside the usual course of Uber’s business.” The same logic
applies to e-commerce operators and vacation-rental firms, which generally hold
that their direct responsibility ends after linking buyers and sellers, rather
than for the goods or lodging. Courts have largely sided with industry, often
citing Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which has shielded
technology platforms from what happens on them.

Advertisement


Lyft also has faced multiple lawsuits over conduct during rides, as well as
accidents and other conflicts. Its trust and safety team has a similar charge to
Uber’s, though at a much smaller scale, out of an office in Nashville.
Interviews with Lyft employees indicate that the company also seeks to limit its
liability for driver and passenger behavior, in part by deactivating drivers or
riders. Earlier this month, 14 women filed suit against Lyft saying they had
been sexually assaulted by drivers over the past two years. “Safety is
fundamental to Lyft. We work closely with regulators around the country to help
ensure the safety of drivers and riders,” spokesman Adrian Durbin said.

How Lyft lost the trust of #DeleteUber women who thought it was ‘woke’

Uber and Lyft have spent millions lobbying to maintain their legal distance from
drivers, who come and go. Classifying drivers as independent contractors allows
them to operate lean organizations without having to pay salaries, benefits or
costs like fuel and vehicle insurance.

Story continues below advertisement



“Uber and these gig economy companies have very successfully argued that their
liability is limited because they’re just platforms,” said Veena Dubal, a
University of California Hastings College of the Law professor, who has studied
app companies. “So naturally that extends to the rides or the delivery service —
the companies can’t be responsible, because these people aren’t their
employees.”

Advertisement


Even while arguing it shouldn’t be held liable for driver or rider conduct, Uber
has sought to settle cases quickly to avoid the scrutiny of open court,
according to numerous attorneys who have sued the firm. It’s an expensive
strategy. Uber, for instance, settled a highly publicized case for roughly $25
million last year involving more than 20 women who alleged various sexual
assaults in rides hailed on the app, according to a person familiar with the
matter. Uber said the account of the settlement terms was “speculation” that
“continues to bring harm and victimize the women involved.” The lead attorney
for the alleged victims, Jeanne Christensen of Wigdor LLP, declined to comment.

Uber has released little data about problematic rides on its service. It has
been promising since at least May 2018 to publish a detailed accounting of
sexual allegation charges that occur in vehicles in the United States. Breeden
said the report would be available by year’s end, noting that compiling the data
“takes a lot of time.”

Uber announces 435 layoffs on its product and engineering teams

Following the Post’s report, Sen. Blumenthal (D-Conn) on Wednesday assailed Uber
and Lyft for their responses to driver misconduct in letters to the companies’
CEOs. He called on Uber to release the transparency report about sexual
misconduct allegations during rides and for both ride-hailing firms to commit to
fingerprint-based background checks for their drivers, among other safety
measures.

Uber relies on a three-strikes system that can allow bad actors — both drivers
and riders — to keep using the app until three uncorroborated allegations are
made, according to the more than 20 current and former investigators. For more
egregious claims, it is generally two such strikes, they said. Without
corroborating evidence, such as a police report or rape kit, they said, they
don’t have the time, resources or encouragement to delve deeply into most
allegations. If drivers or passengers deny the allegations, investigators said
they often have little recourse with Uber but to briefly suspend access to the
app and possibly refund a passenger’s money.

Uber said “many of the policies” described by investigators “are out of date”
and said there is no “one size fits all” approach. Ruffin Chevaleau, Uber
director of U.S. and Canada centers of excellence, said, “We look more for
patterns.”

“For the most severe cases — sexual assault — that means that the person is
removed” from accessing the app permanently and after one infraction, she said.
A typical case is resolved within three to five days, she said.

Even the strikes system can be superseded by Uber executives who may be
motivated to keep as many drivers on the road as possible, investigators said.
In one case, an investigator said he had recommended a driver — who already had
two strikes — be permanently deactivated after the driver attempted to rub the
leg of a female passenger without her consent. (The driver denied the
allegations, according to the investigator.) An Uber executive, noting the
driver was a high earner and had completed more than 10,000 rides, allowed him
to continue taking fares, according to the investigator.

Uber said the incident occurred in 2017 and that its “processes and policies
have evolved.” It added that its city managers no longer “have the authority to
overturn the outcome of an investigation.”

Lyft announces safety changes advocated by victims in wake of scrutiny

In a civil suit against Uber filed last year in Chattanooga, Tenn., that is
still ongoing, two female riders allege a driver sexually assaulted them because
Uber failed to keep him off the road following the first woman’s claim he groped
her breast and compelled her to grab his penis. Within 15 days of that alleged
incident, he exposed himself to the second woman and tried to grab her,
according to the complaint.

The risk inherent in not informing background check firms or other ride-hailing
companies of bad drivers came into stark relief over the summer when Chicago
officials found that an Uber driver who fatally kicked a taxi driver in a 2018
dispute had been deactivated for punching a passenger weeks earlier while
driving for Lyft, which had failed to report it. Had the company disclosed it to
the city, as required within 48 hours, Uber may not have allowed the driver, who
has since fled to China, to work for them, officials contend. Lyft has admitted
the error and will pay a $10,000 fine.

Formed in 2017 as an offshoot of what was known as the Incident Response Team,
the SIU differs from many tech firms’ approaches to customer service by directly
employing its workers, rather than relying on contract firms abroad.

Although SIU investigators like Flores may handle sensitive incidents, like
sexual assaults or fatal accidents, Uber said it only recently began requiring a
minimum of one year’s prior experience conducting investigations or handling
safety calls or insurance claims. Among those Uber has previously hired for the
post are a former fry cook, grocery store cashier and barista, though job
postings indicate backgrounds in law enforcement or human resources
investigations are “strongly preferred,” and some investigators have psychology
or law enforcement experience.

Customer or driver claims are filed through the Uber app and then routed to
agents who determine whether the matter requires an investigation, generally
known as Level 3 or Level 4 incidents, such as severe accidents or claims of
assault, investigators said. Investigators, who receive six weeks of training,
estimate about three-quarters of complaints are made against drivers.

Uber rang in its IPO with champagne and mimosas. Then the hangover began.

Complaints are filed through the “my driver was unprofessional” or “accident”
sections of the app and then routed to investigators, the agents said. Relying
on GPS data, internal account information and any other evidence available, the
workers call both the driver and rider and try to determine the truth. Some such
investigations may last just minutes, while more complicated ones can stretch
for hours or days. Investigators said there are a number of false complaints by
passengers seeking to get their fare refunded.

Because of the sheer number of tickets that flow through investigators’ queue,
they rarely have time to spend more than a few minutes at a stretch talking to
victims and the accused, the workers said. Several investigators said managers
send instant messages to nudge them when a call lasts too long.

In the end, it is often a judgment call, investigators said, which can leave
both parties dissatisfied. Uber also doesn’t share details of its determination
with the complainant, typically just saying they won’t be matched for a future
ride with the offending party. That can leave aggrieved riders wondering whether
a dangerous driver is still picking up fares.

While traveling in Florida in January, Denise Wood, of Fargo, N.D., said her
Uber driver locked her in his car and tried to force her to get in the front
seat next to him. When she refused, he began masturbating, she said, before she
managed to get out of the car. Although Wood filed a complaint through Uber’s
app and was emailed by an investigator, she said she could never speak with the
person to discuss her case. Uber said the driver made a first report about the
rider’s behavior, and it cut off Wood’s access to the app because it was
unsuccessful in contacting her over several attempts.

Her driver, she said, may still be on the road for Uber.

“There’s just no reason to believe they care,” said Wood, a self-help book
author. “If they cared, they would take my information and take this sexual
predator off the road. What if he’s out there doing this to someone else?”

257 Comments
GiftOutline
Gift Article




Subscribe to comment and get the full experience. Choose your plan →


View more

Loading...
Advertisement


Advertisement

TOP STORIES
The Download
Stay up to date on the news from Silicon Valley, and how to take back control of
your data and devices.
AI isn’t yet going to take your job — but you may have to work with it


How Elon Musk knocked Tesla’s ‘Full Self-Driving’ off course


Perspective|ChatGPT can ace logic tests now. But don’t ask it to be creative.


Refresh
Try a different topic

Sign in or create a free account to save your preferences
Advertisement


Advertisement

Company
 * About The Post
 * Newsroom Policies & Standards
 * Diversity and Inclusion
 * Careers
 * Media & Community Relations
 * WP Creative Group
 * Accessibility Statement

Get The Post
 * 
 * Become a Subscriber
 * Gift Subscriptions
 * Mobile & Apps
 * Newsletters & Alerts
 * Washington Post Live
 * Reprints & Permissions
 * Post Store
 * Books & E-Books
 * Newspaper in Education
 * Print Archives (Subscribers Only)
 * Today’s Paper
 * Public Notices

Contact Us
 * Contact the Newsroom
 * Contact Customer Care
 * Contact the Opinions team
 * Advertise
 * Licensing & Syndication
 * Request a Correction
 * Send a News Tip
 * Report a Vulnerability

Terms of Use
 * Digital Products Terms of Sale
 * Print Products Terms of Sale
 * Terms of Service
 * Privacy Policy
 * Cookie Settings
 * Submissions & Discussion Policy
 * RSS Terms of Service
 * Ad Choices

washingtonpost.com © 1996-2023 The Washington Post
 * washingtonpost.com
 * © 1996-2023 The Washington Post
 * About The Post
 * Contact the Newsroom
 * Contact Customer Care
 * Request a Correction
 * Send a News Tip
 * Report a Vulnerability
 * Download the Washington Post App
 * Policies & Standards
 * Terms of Service
 * Privacy Policy
 * Cookie Settings
 * Print Products Terms of Sale
 * Digital Products Terms of Sale
 * Submissions & Discussion Policy
 * RSS Terms of Service
 * Ad Choices








THE WASHINGTON POST CARES ABOUT YOUR PRIVACY

We and our partners store and/or access information on a device, such as unique
IDs in cookies to process personal data. You may accept or manage your choices
by clicking below, including your right to object where legitimate interest is
used, or at any time in the privacy policy page. These choices will be signaled
to our partners and will not affect browsing data.


WE AND OUR PARTNERS PROCESS DATA TO PROVIDE:

Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Select basic ads. Store
and/or access information on a device. Create a personalised ads profile. Select
personalised ads. Create a personalised content profile. Select personalised
content. Measure ad performance. Measure content performance. Apply market
research to generate audience insights. Develop and improve products. View list
of partners

I accept Disable all Manage cookies