An attorney for 21 alleged sexual assault and rape victims will hold a press conference Wednesday in San Francisco to announce a new lawsuit against rideshare company Lyft.
This announcement comes just months after a separate lawsuit was filed by 14 women against the company in September, alleging that Lyft failed to report rapes and sexual crimes to police and adopted policies to “silence” victims. The 21 people in the lawsuit to be announced Wednesday are new, and the suit alleges that many of the assaults occurred after the initial lawsuit.
In a press conference in September, two women spoke out about measures they thought would make Lyft safer for passengers. They said that background checks are not enough, and that surveillance cameras and a panic button in the Lyft app would improve safety.
Along with attorney Mike Bomberger, four victims who will be named in the suit will appear at the Hilton Hotel in the Financial District. The conference is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.
In September, Lyft provided the following statement:
“The safety of our riders and drivers is fundamental to Lyft. We do not tolerate harassment or violence on our platform, and such behavior can and does result in a permanent ban from our service. We have made it a priority to continually invest in features that put riders in control of their experience. This includes in-app photos of the driver and vehicle, with increased license plate visibility, real-time ride tracking, digital receipts, and a two-way rating system with mandatory secondary feedback. We also bolstered our monitoring of active drivers on the platform implementing continuous criminal monitoring and enhanced identity verification.”
