Uber Technologies Inc. released its second U.S. safety report on Thursday, showing an increase in fatalities from motor vehicle accidents and assault incidents, and a decrease in reports of sexual assault, compared to its safety report previous.
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said that in 2019 and 2020 there were 101 fatalities in 91 Uber-related fatalities, an increase of 7% over its previous report, which covered from 2017 to 2018. This was about half the national average , the company noted. It reported 6.2 trillion U.S. miles driven on its platform from 2019 to 2020, compared to 6.4 trillion miles from 2017 to 2018.
The public transport giant also reported 20 fatalities in 19 incidents of assault, an 18% increase over its previous report, which it called “in line with the increase in fatalities from homicides nationwide.” . Fifteen of those killed were passengers and five drivers, the company said.
Also in 2019 and 2020, Uber said it received 3,824 complaints of the five most serious categories of sexual assault and misconduct, which include non-consensual sexual penetration and kissing and touching of sexual parts of the body. This is a 38% drop from the 5,981 reported in its 2017-18 report, he said. In 43% of these sexual assault allegations, motorcyclists were the accused party 43% of the time, similar to what the company found in its first report.
The company noted that the period covered by its latest report includes a decrease in travel volume of up to 80% in April 2020 due to stops after the advent of COVID-19.
Uber faces pressure from worker groups and politicians for worker safety. Gig Workers Rising recently released a report on workers over the age of 50 who have been murdered at work since 2017, which included 26 people who were fatally assaulted while working for Uber.
Following this report, several lawmakers, including Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders, asked Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi for more detailed information on employee safety, including company policies and practices when one of its drivers dies at work. They asked for an answer before June 22nd.
“Uber has not protected or supported enough [drivers] in the face of a global pandemic, increasing violence and economic instability. Your refusal to grant them basic insurance and benefits, even in the face of death at work, and despite their key role in your business, is unacceptable, ”lawmakers wrote.
Uber has not returned a request for comment on whether the company has responded to the letter from lawmakers.