Chicago rideshare drivers want more safety measures, even as Uber announces changes
CHICAGO (CBS) – New changes are coming to the Uber app in an effort to increase safety, but some say the changes don't go far enough.
Now, drivers in Chicago want the city to step in and they shared their concerns with CBS 2.
Rideshare driver Lori Simmons said her car isn't just a car.
"This is Pearl," she said. "She's my work vehicle and good friend."
But Simmons and Pearl were not working the apps on Thursday after about a decade as a full-time driver. She was headed to a meeting in her advocacy position with the Chicago Gig Alliance for gig workers like herself. She spends a lot of time talking about their safety concerns.
"I get phone calls multiple times a day from drivers letting me know about situations that occurred to them," Simmons said.
Uber is rolling out a new safety feature for drivers that would allow riders to verify their own identity and connect to an official ID, but Simmons said that it doesn't require riders to do so, and there are ramifications for divers who reject ride requests.
"If you decline two rides in a row once it's your turn, they just drop you to the back of the line," Simmons said.
Reporter: "Have you taken any rides that made you feel unsafe?"
Simmons: "Oh definitely, yeah."
Data from the city tracked the number of crimes occurring within a rideshare car each year. There were 97 reported in 2021, 86 in 2022, 102 in 2023, and 39 so far this year, according to the Chicago Police Department.
Some of the most common offenses rideshare drivers face include assault, battery, robbery, theft, and deceptive practice, a kind of catch-all term that covers fraudulent behavior.
Simmons said her group is pushing the Chicago City Council to pass a rideshare ordinance to lay out a more straightforward pay structure.
"Per mile per minute, which is what it should be. We shouldn't have to play games to get paid and we shouldn't have to take rides that make us feel unsafe to get paid," she said.
They also want to require rider verification for all users on all platforms.