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Whether it’s right or wrong, women are constantly reminded to be vigilant about our safety. We check in on our friends after we go out to make sure they got home safely. We’re cautious about where we walk at night. We would hope that a large ride-sharing platform would be as vigilant about our safety as we are.
Well…
Twitter user @AnnaGillcrist shared her experience of riding home in a Lyft after a bachelorette party.
Last night I took a @lyft home from my friends bachelorette. It was a line, so there were two people in the back seat when I got in. Once they were dropped off, the driver immediately leaned over to me and asks “do you have a boyfriend?”. I paused, and didn’t respond.
— anna gillcrist (@AnnaGillcrist) April 7, 2019
Creepy and annoying, yes, but not necessarily dangerous. Unfortunately, he persists.
He asks again, “come on do you have a boyfriend?” I said yes. He continued to ask me questions about what he did, and what I did. Then he asks, “is your boyfriend in town?” I didn’t respond. He asks again. I don’t respond. He pulls up on my street and starts to drive very slowly
— anna gillcrist (@AnnaGillcrist) April 7, 2019
Okay, warning signs for sure. It gets worse.
He looks at me and asks “is your boyfriend home?” I immediately realized the doors were locked and I said “please unlock the doors.” He didn’t. So I pried the lock up, jumped out of the car, and ran to my apartment.
— anna gillcrist (@AnnaGillcrist) April 7, 2019
Thankfully, she was able to quickly escape to safety.
Surely Lyft will respond swiftly.
Right?
This morning, I spoke with @lyft on the phone and told them exactly what happened. The man said “Well ma’am we will make sure that that driver is not able to pick you up again.” I explained that that wasn’t good enough, that this man needed to not pick up ANY woman ever again.
— anna gillcrist (@AnnaGillcrist) April 7, 2019
and he just said “don’t worry he will be reprimanded.” Then he gave me a $5 credit, and told me he would be emailing me the official report. I have received no email. I’ve been sitting on my bed thinking about this for hours and I am fucking angry.
— anna gillcrist (@AnnaGillcrist) April 7, 2019
Wow. I have no words. No, wait… I actually do…
Their response to a dangerous, frightening situation and a driver that could hurt someone, and at the very least made Anna deeply uncomfortable, is a $5 credit?
Anna wasn’t having it.
I want more than a stupid $5 credit. Your driver put me in a scenario in which I thought I might be kidnapped, raped, or even killed. That pathetic attempt to mask a serious issue is insulting to me and women everywhere who have to deal with this shit on a regular basis.
— anna gillcrist (@AnnaGillcrist) April 7, 2019
So please let me know when you decide to do the right thing. I’m not going to drop this. @lyft
— anna gillcrist (@AnnaGillcrist) April 7, 2019
Twitter wasn’t going to let Lyft get away with this response.
@lyft you have over 12k of us watching this and waiting for a real response from you
— La Reina Croqueta (@agcia87) April 9, 2019
No, they weren’t.
As a Lyft driver it really upsets me how this is being handled. I try my hardest to provide rides my passengers enjoy and feel safe in. This is disgusting behavior and should NOT be tolerated in any way whatsoever! @lyft @AskLyft #Lyft
— Price Stevenson IV (He/Him) (@PriceStevensonI) April 9, 2019
Come on Lyft…
https://twitter.com/sarahgtuttle/status/1115638009377042432
Finally, Lyft did respond:
Anna, we are so sorry you experienced this. Behavior like you reported is not allowed on the Lyft platform, and we find reports like this very concerning. We immediately took action as soon as we received your tweet and a member of our safety team will be in touch soon.
— Lyft (@lyft) April 9, 2019
Part two…
After further investigation, we have deactivated the driver reported here. We do not tolerate harassment or violence on our platform, and this type of behavior can and does lead to a permanent ban from our service.
— Lyft (@lyft) April 10, 2019
Part three…
Thank you, Anna, for speaking out on your experience, and for bringing this concern to our attention. We’re truly sorry. People who put our community at risk should not be allowed to pick up anyone, ever.
— Lyft (@lyft) April 10, 2019
Although this particular response only addresses the individual driver, Lyft has also taken steps further steps to address these types of issues across the platform. They are introducing ongoing background checks, rather than just the initial background check, and enhanced identity verification.
These are steps in the right direction, and we can only hope that these platforms will take reports regarding driver safety more seriously in the future.
