Notice to Riders about Lyft Line and Uber Pool

A recent incident at 1:45 in the morning in the San Francisco Bay area might want to make you consider requesting a private ride instead of sharing your ride with other passengers.


Source: CBS - San Francisco

SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX 5) – A Bay Area couple said their experience with Lyft became a nightmare when they were attacked by two men sharing a ride with them in San Francisco early Wednesday morning.

The couple, who asked not to be identified, told KPIX 5 that the incident took place about a quarter to two in the morning. They were near the corner of 15th Street and Valencia when the two men in the SUV with them became crude.

“They just were talking really derogatorily about women and about dating apps and their co-workers and just saying really nasty things that were not comfortable,” the woman told KPIX 5.
When the couple asked the men to stop, things exploded.

“He says to me, ‘You need to control your woman.’ And since it’s not 1850, I took offense to that,” the man said.

“Before I knew it, he was just throwing punches, he hit me in the head like five or six times,” the woman said.

Her boyfriend has knot on his forehead from the punches. She said the driver didn’t stop the ride until she yelled for help. That’s when the two men took off and San Francisco police was called.

“There was little they could do because they just didn’t have the data that Lyft just has, who these people were, what their address is, what their phone number is,” the man said.

According to the couple, the driver tried and failed to get ahold of Lyft.

“They should know what to do if things arise. There should be protocol if the cops need to be called,” the woman said. “I mean, the driver just stood there like a deer in the headlights.”

Two hours later, safely home, the couple said Lyft called with an offer for $5 and a restaurant certificate.

That’s when the couple took to their laptops and lit up Lyft on social media, and Lyft got back to them…with a better explanation, but little help.

“‘Incidents like this help us how to do better in the future,’ which basically sounded to me like, we have to figure out how unsafe people are before we figure out how to make them safe,” the woman said.

Both said they’ll never ride Lyft again.

“They always talk about fist bumps, but I guess we didn’t expect that one,” the man said.
“I just hope that nobody else has to experience this,” the woman said.

The SFPD said they are investigating and are working with Lyft to find the two men involved.
In an email to CBS San Francisco Thursday, Lyft spokeswoman Paige Thelen said “We take all matters involving safety extremely seriously and we immediately disabled the passenger’s account upon receiving this report. Our Trust and Safety team has been in touch with the victims and will continue to be available to help in any way we can, as well as support the authorities in the ongoing investigation.”