On Wednesday, December 4, Mike Bomberger, an attorney for 21 alleged sexual assault and rape victims held a press conference in San Francisco to announce a new lawsuit against rideshare company Lyft. This announcement comes on the heels of a separate lawsuit was filed by 14 women against the company in September. Both lawsuits allege that Lyft failed to report rapes and sexual crimes to police. It also states that Lyft adopted policies to “silence” the victims of these assaults.
The 21 people in the lawsuit are new, and many of the assaults occurred after the initial lawsuit. In September of 2019, two women spoke out about measures that they believed would make Lyft safer for all passengers who utilize the service. These women said that the background checks conducted by the company are not adequate, and that by adapting surveillance cameras and a panic button in the app would significantly improve the safety of the riders.