LOS ANGELES— The deadly shooting rampage in Kalamazoo, Michigan, raises anew a question that has dogged Uber and other taxi competitors: Their rides may be cheaper and more convenient than a cab, but are they as safe?
It’s not just whether Uber’s part-time drivers are better (or worse) behind the wheel. It’s whether passengers are more likely to be assaulted, kidnapped or raped by an Uber driver than a cabbie.
The answer is that there seems to be no reliable answer. Police and transportation authorities around the U.S. say they know of no rigorous comparison of cabbies and Uber drivers.
The taxi industry, facing an existential threat from Uber, has highlighted a series of incidents as evidence that an Uber trip is a gamble passengers should not take. Then again, taxi drivers have assaulted customers, too.
If any place might have analyzed which is safer, how about San Francisco, where Uber was launched more than five years ago and keeps its headquarters?
Police there can’t say because they don’t keep crime data in a way that would answer the safety question. Local transportation regulators don’t know, either. Nor does San Francisco’s district attorney, though his office is spearheading a lawsuit that alleges Uber misled passengers into believing its driver background checks are the most comprehensive available.
