She was sexually assaulted in a rideshare. She’s not alone — but companies won’t share Canadian data

When Emily ordered a ride through a rideshare app after hanging out with friends six years ago, she thought she was making a safe choice. 

Then, she was sexually assaulted by her driver. 

Two years after the driver pleaded guilty to sexual assault, Emily decided to sue him and the rideshare company in civil court. The lawsuit is still winding its way through the court system. 

“I was relying on the rideshare company to get me home safe and instead they put me in a car with my rapist,” Emily said. Radio-Canada has changed her name and has not named the rideshare company to protect Emily’s identity. 

In the past two years, at least five rideshare drivers have been arrested in connection with a sexual assault or convicted in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area, based on police data.

But it’s unclear how comprehensive that number is. That’s because, despite having done so for the U.S., companies such as Uber and Lyft have not released data on alleged sexual assaults in Canada.

Several lawyers say the companies should be more transparent about such cases. 

“They are touting a safe service,” said Toronto lawyer Simona Jellinek. “Show us how safe it is. Prove it.” 

Meanwhile, Toronto-based lawyer Darryl Singer says he has worked on around a dozen cases in the last five years involving someone suing a rideshare company after an alleged sexual assault. Several cases are ongoing, he told CBC Toronto in May. 

Most of his cases are in the GTA, he said. In 2019, one of his clients, a woman from Toronto, sued Uber and a driver for $5 million. The lawsuit was settled, he said. 

Reports involving rideshares have increased “notably” since 2020, said Toronto police spokesperson Nadine Ramadan in an email to CBC Toronto. 

“These increases are more pronounced than the overall trends for assaults and sexual violations city-wide,” she wrote, adding the increase may coincide with an expanded use of ride-sharing services since 2020. 

Uber and Lyft condemned incidents of sexual assault in emails to Radio-Canada. 

Both platforms provide in-app safety measures. Uber lets passengers share their trip details with someone else and has an emergency assistance button that allows users to call 911. 

Lyft also offers a location-sharing function. The company says it “monitors rides for unusual activity, like long stops or route deviations.” 

“If we notice anything off about your ride, we’ll contact you to see if you need help,” Lyft says on its website. 

But Emily said these measures gave her a “false sense of security.” 

“Unfortunately, there are still bad people out there that also use these apps,” she said. 

Lyft has “incorporated a number of features to promote safety” for riders, including screening processes for drivers, spokesperson Allison Guthrie said. 

Meanwhile, Uber spokesperson Gabriela Condarco-Quesada said the company is “constantly seek[ing] new ways to improve safety … before, during, and after every ride.” 

But Singer said the companies should do more to screen their drivers. 

People who want to drive for Uber or Lyft in Toronto have to follow a series of steps, starting with a background check conducted by the companies. The companies then apply for a licence on behalf of the drivers. The city reviews the applicant’s criminal record check and driving record before issuing the licence. 

One ground of refusal for a licence is the conviction for “any sexual offence under the Criminal Code in the preceding ten years,” according to the city’s website. 

If the city becomes aware of any breaches of its screening criteria, it notifies the companies and “they are required to immediately remove the driver,” city spokesperson Shane Gerard said. 

But with nearly 80,500 people licensed to drive for rideshare companies in the city in December 2024, according to a recent report, a criminal background check alone is not sufficient, Singer said. 

“Somebody may never have had a criminal record before precisely because they’ve never been convicted,” he said. 

Singer would like to see applicants interviewed before they begin driving.

“I can’t imagine in my office hiring somebody based on an exchange of text messages through an app,” he said. 

Singer said the City of Toronto “could easily” require rideshare apps to publish sexual assault data annually to continue operating, as they have done in the U.S. 

The city has published data from rideshare companies before, such as the number of trips made in the city.

But while riders can file a complaint on the city’s website against a driver regarding the conditions of their vehicle, any complaint related to the behaviour of the driver must be filed directly with the company. 

Data shows majority of criminal charges laid in Ontario don’t make it to trial

Neither city staff nor Mayor Olivia Chow’s office responded when asked if they had asked rideshare companies operating in Toronto to share sexual assault data. 

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Transport Canada said the federal department has no involvement in the regulation or oversight of rideshare operations. 

In its latest U.S. report, Lyft said 2,651 cases of alleged sexual assault by drivers and passengers were reported to the company between 2020 and 2022. That amounts to one case for every 540,000 trips, it said. 

Lyft said it will continue to monitor the situation in Canada, but did not commit to publishing Canadian data.

Uber said 2,717 alleged cases of sexual assault by drivers and passengers in the U.S. were reported to the company between January 2021 and December 2022 — one case for every 700,000 trips, according to the company’s latest report. 

A spokesperson for Uber said the company will “continue to evaluate future opportunities to publish additional reports.” 

Both companies said cases of sexual assault are exceedingly rare. 

Burlington lawyer Laura Hillyer, who has represented victims of sexual assault in rideshare vehicles, said rideshare companies should be more transparent in releasing data about all alleged crimes during trips. 

“If I go out for dinner with my friends in the city and I choose to walk home alone in the dark, I know what risk I’m taking,” she said. 

“I don’t think people fully appreciate the risk that they’re taking when they get into a rideshare because I don’t think the risks are fully disclosed.” 

Meanwhile, for Emily, while taking her case to court has been no easy feat, she says speaking out has taught her an important lesson.

“I’ve learned I’m stronger than I thought I was and more resilient than I thought I could be,” she said. “And unfortunately, that I’m not alone.”