In December, an Uber driver in India was arrested after a female passenger accused him of rape.
Now, that passenger is suing Uber – in a US federal court.
The woman, who is still unidentified, is demanding unspecified damages. She also wants Uber to institute some passenger safeguards in India, including mandatory in-car video cameras.
From Reuters:
In the lawsuit, the woman, who resides in Delhi and was not named, called Uber the “modern day equivalent of electronic hitchhiking.”
“Buyer beware – we all know how those horror movies end,” the suit stated.
Uber was quick to express its disgust when reports of the crime emerged.
“This is an abhorrent crime. Our thoughts remain with the victim who has shown tremendous courage under the circumstances,” said Uber’s Saad Ahmed at the time. “Safety is our #1 priority and in India.”
Uber was then suspended in New Delhi.
“We are sorry and deeply saddened by what happened over the weekend in New Delhi. Our hearts go out to the victim of this horrible crime. We have been and will continue to do everything in our power to assist the authorities to help bring the perpetrator to justice,” said Uber. “The events of this week have made us reflect on our operations in India and we are immediately undertaking a number of important actions. During this review, we will suspend operations in New Delhi.”
Uber was later reinstated after applying for the required taxi licenses.
Shortly after, Uber pledged to work on making to service safer worldwide.
“We believe deeply that, alongside our driver partners, we have built the safest transportation option in 260 cities around the world,” said Philip Cardenas, Head of Global Safety, in a blog post. “But we have more work to do, and we will do it. Uber is committed to developing new technology tools that improve safety, strengthen and increase the number of cities and countries where background checks are conducted and improve communication with local officials and law enforcement.”
This promise came about 24 hours before an Uber driver was charged with rape in Boston.
Image via Uber, Facebook