On Monday, representatives from Uber and Lyft will appear before the Metropolitan King County Council's Government Accountability and Oversight Committee.
The committee is looking at how the rideshare companies screen its drivers following a series of safety incidents including sexual assault.
“We have seen an uptick in reports of misconduct and assault by [transportation network company] drivers both in the Seattle area and across the country,” said Councilmember Pete von Reichbauer, who chairs the GAO committee, in a release about the committee's special meeting. “With this hearing, we hope to find out what safeguards Uber and Lyft have in place to ensure that when passengers engage their services, they will be safe and their travel information will be secure.”
Last month the Bellevue Police Department arrested a 34-year-old rideshare driver accused of sexually assaulting a passenger in January.
According to police, a woman visiting from Arizona was waiting for a rideshare vehicle in downtown Bellevue so she could get back to her hotel in Seattle on January 20. Around 2 a.m. the woman accidentally got into the man’s vehicle, which had a rideshare symbol on the dashboard, and fell asleep.
When the victim awoke, the suspect had allegedly put handcuffs on the victim and was attempting to sexually assault her. Police said the victim was able to fight off the suspect and escape. The victim then reported the incident to police.
The Bellevue incident came shortly after a number of fake rideshare drivers made headlines for attacking passengers. A Tukwila man who posed as an Uber driver was charged with rape earlier this month after allegedly attacking a woman he picked up. A University of South Carolina student was also kidnapped and killed after she got into a car that she thought was her Uber ride and was not.
The meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers.
Bellevue police and the King County Sheriff’s Office shared the following rideshare safety tips with residents:
- Verify the license plate of the vehicle you are getting into is the same as the car on your app. Many ride-sharing vehicles are similar.
- Make sure the license plate number on the car matches the license plate number listed on the ride app.
- If given the option, let someone else know you're in an Uber or a Lyft.
- Ask “What’s my name?” Verify that the driver picking you up knows your name and is, in fact, the driver you have called.
- Never get into a vehicle with an unknown driver.
- Never accept rides from someone claiming to be a ride-share driver if you haven’t ordered their specific vehicle through the app.
- Report any unacceptable behavior to the ride-share company and the police.