Rideshare Safety

Ride-sharing services can be great! But they can also be dangerous.

Last Thursday, a Lyft driver was charged with raping an intoxicated woman after picking her up in downtown St. Louis. The man sexually assaulted the woman after turning off his ride-sharing location software and deviating from the woman’s requested destination.

Also on Thursday, Uber released it’s first ever safety report. Over three thousand sexual assaults occurred rides made in the US in 2018.

KZRG asked Joplin Police Captain Nick Jimenez how we can keep ourselves safe.

“If anything isn’t as it seems, don’t take the ride. Another safety tip is let somebody know. Whenever you’re notified of the ride you’re getting, it provides a face, and a license plate and vehicle description. It’s not a bad idea to screenshot that. Send it to someone and let them know that’s your plan.”

Uber provided more than 2.3 billion rides in the US last year.