Rides feel routine. The numbers say risk is real. Sealed court records reviewed by The New York Times show Uber received 400,181 reports of sexual assault or misconduct in the U.S. from 2017 to 2022.
🧭 What’s New: The Times reports newly unsealed case files show far more complaints than Uber has disclosed in its public safety reports.
- Court filings, cited by The Times, put the tally at 400,181 reports in five years, roughly one every eight minutes.
- Uber’s published reports for that period counted 12,522 “serious” sexual assaults, a narrower slice of incidents.
🚨 Why It Matters: These trips happen in your city and on your block. Safety decisions in one app can change how you get home, what you pay, and who feels safe getting in the car.
🧩 What Uber Says: Uber states most reports involve non-physical or lower-level conduct and represent a tiny share of 6.3 billion U.S. trips over those years. The company points to app tools and training it says reduce harm.
- Uber says about three-quarters of the 400,181 reports involve behavior such as unwanted comments or explicit language.
- The company says these figures are unaudited and may include false reports. Uber also says serious sexual assault reports have fallen since 2019.
🕰️ Between the Lines: Internal discussions described in court records show safety choices weighed against growth and legal risk, The Times reports.
- Records reviewed by the newspaper say Uber studied patterns for years: most reports late at night, on weekends, near bars; women most often victimized; men most often accused, including drivers and riders with prior complaints.
🛠️ What’s Changing for Riders: Uber has tested new tools, according to court records and company statements.
- Pairing women riders with women drivers reduced incidents in tests, per the filings. Uber is now piloting this in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Detroit.
- Uber cites features like GPS tracking, optional audio recording, and a quick 911 button. The company says it also trains drivers on sexual misconduct.
📚 Catch Up: Both major ride-hailing apps face scrutiny on assault reporting and response.
- Lyft has reported thousands of cases and says such reports are rare.
- A 2024 Government Accountability Office report says sexual violence is widely underreported across transportation and there is no national tracking system.
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Before You Dismiss This Article…
We live in a time when information feels overwhelming, but here’s what hasn’t changed: facts exist whether they comfort us or not.
When A&W launched their third-pound burger to compete with McDonald’s Quarter Pounder in the 1980s, it failed spectacularly. Not because it tasted worse, but because customers thought 1/3 was smaller than 1/4. If basic math can trip us up, imagine how easily we can misread complex news.
The press isn’t against you when it reports something you don’t want to hear. Reporters are thermometers, not the fever itself. They’re telling you what verified sources are saying, not taking sides. Good reporting should challenge you — that’s literally the job.
Next time a story makes you angry, pause. Ask yourself: What evidence backs this up? Am I reacting with my brain or my gut? What would actually change my mind? And most importantly, am I assuming bias just because the story doesn’t match what I hoped to hear.
Smart readers choose verified information over their own comfort zone.
B.T. Clark
B.T. Clark is an award-winning journalist and the Publisher of The Georgia Sun. He has 25 years of experience in journalism and served as Managing Editor of Neighbor Newspapers in metro Atlanta for 15 years and Digital Director at Times-Journal Inc. for 8 years. His work has appeared in several newspapers throughout the state including Neighbor Newspapers, The Cherokee Tribune and The Marietta Daily Journal. He is a Georgia native and a fifth-generation Georgian.
