Uber to Boston Users: Check the Car Before You Get In
Uber has deployed a “safe ride checklist’’ in Boston that pops up for local users when they book a ride through the rideshare service’s app. It asks users, when they think their ride has arrived, to confirm the car’s license plate number and to check the name and appearance of the driver before entering the vehicle.
Uber provides this driver information when users book rides on the app, and the company says it serves as a safety measure to make sure customers get in the proper car. The checklist is essentially a nudge to users to make use of that info. It comes in light of a string of recent sexual assault allegations in Boston related to the company.
Alejandro Done, a Boston resident who drives for Uber, was charged Wednesday on counts of rape, assault to rape, kidnapping, and assault and battery. On Dec. 6, authorities allege Done picked up a Cambridge woman in Boston, drove to a location unfamiliar to the rider, strangled her in the back seat of the car, and sexually assaulted her. An Uber spokesperson said Wednesday night that while Done is a driver for the company, he was not assigned to pick the woman up. It is unclear whether Done used information gained as an Uber driver to carry out the alleged attack, the Middlesex District Attorney’s office said.
The charges against Done came days after three rideshare-related sexual assaults were reported early Sunday morning. Three women each booked rides through rideshare services in the early morning, with at least two reportedly using Uber to do so. In at least one of those three incidents, Boston Police said, the customer entered a car that was not being operated by the driver the service had arranged to pick her up. Uber said Tuesday that it had “no evidence’’ that any of its drivers were involved in the three alleged assaults.
“No one should hail or get into any vehicle on the street that is not a clearly identifiable pre-arranged transportation provider or licensed taxi, and that’s why Uber has safeguards built right into the app that bring additional layers of safety and security to getting a ride in Boston,’’ Uber spokesperson Taylor Bennett said in a statement.
The safety checklist is not being issued outside of Boston. It will only show up once, not every time a rider calls for a car. Users began seeing the checklist, which fills most of a smartphone screen, upon calling for a ride on Thursday.
Earlier this month, Boston’s City Council held a lengthy hearing to discuss rideshare services and how companies like Uber and its competitor Lyft should be regulated. (The state is also eyeing possible rideshare rules.) Mayor Martin Walsh has convened a Taxi Advisory Committee that is expected to eventually release recommended rideshare regulations. Meghan Joyce, Uber’s Boston general manager, plans to meet with Boston Police Commissioner William Evans next week, The Boston Herald reports.
City Councillor Tim McCarthy, who chaired the Dec. 1 hearing, said Friday that the council is awaiting recommendations from the mayor’s committee, and that councillors are doing their own research to determine the best ways to regulate services like Uber. But he told Boston.com the process will be diligent.
“I think this ramps up the pressure on Uber … But what I don’t want to do is fly off the handle (and create a law that) we wish we hadn’t,’’ he said.
Councillor Ayanna Pressley said that while she supports some rideshare regulations, she does not want to see an “alarmist’’ response to the recent events. She noted that Done had passed an Uber background check.
“Ending rape is much bigger than rideshare regulations,’’ she said. “It’s a sexual assault issue. … It’s an ongoing cultural issue.’’
Councillor Josh Zakim said in an interview that a decal or some other sort of identifying marker on Uber drivers’ cars could further help ensure rider safety and prevent users from getting into the wrong vehicle. Joyce, the company’s Boston general manager, suggested this was a possibility Wednesday at a meeting of Walsh’s taxi committee, according to The Boston Globe.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com