Uber Shares Fall As Company Reports 6,000 Sexual Assaults In First Safety Release

Ridesharing company Uber Technologies Inc’s UBER shares were down in after-hours trading on Thursday as the company released its first-ever safety report.

What Happened

Uber said that about 3,045 incidents of sexual assaults were reported on the 1.3 billion rides taken through its platform in 2018. In 2017, the number of reported incidents was about 2,936 from one billion trips.

The number of reported rape incidents increased slightly to 235 in 2018 from the previous year’s 229 reported incidents, but the number is offset by the increase in the number of rides.

These numbers mean that nearly 99.9% of Uber rides went without incidents. 

Uber also reported 97 fatal motor vehicle crashes involving its rides over the last two years, and another 19 cases of fatal physical assaults.

Following the release of the report, Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said that the company would be better “in the long run” for taking steps like these.

“I firmly believe that companies who are open, accountable, and unafraid are ultimately the companies that succeed,” Khosrowshahi said on Twitter.

Uber had warned the investors ahead of its initial public offering in April that the planned release of its safety report could affect its valuation, CNN reported at the time.

Price Action

Uber’s shares closed 1.41% lower at $28.65 on Thursday. The shares were further 1.57% down in after-hours trading.