Fourteen women who said they were raped or sexually assaulted by Lyft drivers have filed a lawsuit against the ride-hail company, arguing that the app enables drivers to assault passengers.

The lawsuit cites 14 attacks against Lyft passengers between 2018 and 2019. In one attack in Alabama, a blind woman’s cane was stolen by her Lyft driver, who then allegedly raped her.

In six of the incidents, the women had fallen asleep in the car and awoke to the Lyft driver sexually assaulting them, the lawsuit states. In another instance, the Lyft driver pretended to help a stumbling passenger who’d been drinking walk to their door, before allegedly raping them inside their home.



“Lyft knew from the outset that sexual assault was going to be a problem, especially because they have vulnerable passengers who have been drinking,” said the lead plaintiff’s attorney Stephen Estey.

In a statement, Lyft’s head of trust and safety said what the women describe in the lawsuit “is terrifying and has no place in the Lyft community.”

“One in six women will face some form of sexual violence in their lives — behavior that’s unacceptable for our society and on our platform,” she added. “As a platform committed to providing safe transportation, we hold ourselves to a higher standard by designing products and policies to keep out bad actors, make riders and drivers feel safe, and react quickly if and when an incident does occur. Our commitment is stronger than ever, as we dedicate more resources in our continued effort to ensure our riders and drivers have the safest possible experience.”