A new academic study has found “a pattern of discrimination” against passengers with African American-sounding names by Uber and Lyft drivers.

The findings call into question a central narrative of ride-hail apps that they solve the entrenched and humiliating problem of hailing a cab for black passengers.

Waiting times for black passengers in Seattle were 35% longer than for white passengers, and drivers in Boston cancelled rides for black passengers more than twice as frequently as for white passengers, researchers found in a study published Monday by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

In order to study the issue, researchers designed randomized trials by sending research assistants on nearly 1,500 rides in Seattle and Boston.

“Is a taxi driver’s decision, made in public view, not to stop for an African American passenger being eliminated? Or is it just being replaced by a TNC driver’s screen swipe, made in private, that has the same effect?” asked the study’s authors.

“Discrimination has no place in society, and no place on Uber,” Uber’s head of North American operations, Rachel Holt, said in a statement. “We believe Uber is helping reduce transportation inequities across the board, but studies like this one are helpful in thinking about how we can do even more.”

Lyft spokesman Adrian Durbin said in a statement: “We are extremely proud of the positive impact Lyft has on communities of color. Because of Lyft, people living in underserved areas – which taxis have historically neglected – are now able to access convenient, affordable rides. “We provide this service while maintaining an inclusive and welcoming community and do not tolerate any form of discrimination.”

The study also found that ride-hail drivers took female passengers on “longer, more expensive rides” in Boston, possibly due to “a combination of profiteering and flirting to a captive audience”.

In a blogpost describing the research, study author Don MacKenzie of the University of Washington emphasized that the discrimination was most likely the result of “decentralized decisions of individual drivers” and not of ride-hail companies themselves.

MacKenzie also suggested some measures Uber and Lyft could take to combat discrimination, including auditing drivers’ behavior for “indications of bias”.

Its website states that it will block access to anyone found to have discriminated based on “race, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, sex, marital status, gender identity, age or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law. Such discrimination includes, but is not limited to, refusing to provide or accept services based on any of these characteristics”.

Racial discrimination is a troubling aspect of other peer-to-peer internet businesses that have amassed enormous venture capital investments while distributing much of the liability associated with their brick-and-mortar counterparts to individual users.



A 2015 study by researchers at Harvard business school found “widespread discrimination against African American guests” by Airbnb hosts.

Racial discrimination in public accommodations such as hotels is illegal under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, but the private rentals on Airbnb exist in a legal grey area.

Airbnb recently unveiled new policies to combat discrimination. Starting 1 November, users will be required to accept a similar “community commitment” to Uber, which aims to “treat everyone in the Airbnb community – regardless of their race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, disability, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or age – with respect, and without judgment or bias”.

Users who decline to agree to the “commitment” will no longer be able to host or book units on Airbnb.