As Lyft driver Cynthia Norman steered a white Chevy through Cleveland's streets on a common cold night in Jan, the app pinged her to option up a rider named "NBA." She pulled up to the curb in front of a two-story brick flat circuitous where two men who looked to be in their 20s were waiting for her. One was wearing a aureate hoodie, the other was in a black hoodie; both had on face masks.

Courtesy of Cynthia Norman

Screenshot of NBA's ride
Norman provided a screenshot of her ride with NBA to The Markup.

Norman said she was out late driving because her husband was ill in the hospital and she figured they could use the extra coin. After greeting the men, Norman said the one in the black hoodie insisted on sitting in the front seat, despite it being against Lyft's pandemic rules. That was the first ruby flag of the nighttime, she said. Adjacent, the Lyft app showed their destination equally a short, four-minute ride abroad—the 2nd cerise flag. Norman said the third red flag was when the ride concluded at a shuttered sports arena.

"Is this where you wanna become? It's dark," Norman asked the men, co-ordinate to a police study.

"Bitch, this is a carjacking, get out," the man in the passenger seat replied. Then he punched her in the face.

Norman is just one of at to the lowest degree 124 ride-hail and commitment drivers who've been carjacked in the U.S. over the last year and a half, according to an analysis by The Markup. Through interviews with drivers and family unit members, police reports, and local news articles, The Markup found Uber and Lyft drivers from Boston to Nashville to Sioux Falls, South.D., who've been victims of carjackings or attempted carjackings. Their cars concluded upwardly crashed, in chop-shops, or used in other crimes. Police departments nationwide take reported an overall surge in carjackings during the pandemic, and these incidents appear to be happening to ride-hail drivers at an especially loftier rate.

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The Markup found 124 carjackings of ride-hail drivers around the country

Sources: Commuter interviews, police reports, and news manufactures. See our documents hither and our information here.

Many of the drivers are elderly, immigrants, and women. 11 have died as a result of the assaults, dozens more have been severely or permanently injured. Some of the carjackings are "wrong place at the wrong time" types of incidents, just 75 (more 60 per centum) of the attacks tracked by The Markup happened after drivers were paired with their would-exist assailants by Uber'southward or Lyft's algorithm. The Markup spoke with three drivers who were victims of carjackings, and with friends and family members of two additional drivers. The apps matched all five of those drivers to pick up passengers who and then went on to rob, beat, shoot, and in ane example, kill them.

Uber and Lyft consider drivers independent contractors, and so they don't accept ill go out, workers' compensation, or medical insurance through the companies. The drivers have little say in who they pick up or where they go, and they're urged by in-app bonuses and incentives to piece of work long days, often into the dark. They can face penalties if they decline rides. While the companies have on niggling take a chance employing drivers who provide their own cars and insurance and accumulate no benefits, in interviews drivers said they faced holding loss, injury, and worse when they placed their lives in the hands of Uber'due south and Lyft'southward algorithms.

"Lyft and Uber drivers are much more vulnerable than other carjacking victims," said Eric Piza, an associate professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. "If they do this for a living, they have built in reasons to take every ride that comes their way."

Afterward carjackings, drivers say that when they contacted the companies for aid, Uber and Lyft did little to nothing to assist with things like medical bills and property damage. And in many cases the incidents left them without their personal vehicles—which oftentimes tin exist their primary source of income. Many drivers have started GoFundMe campaigns to get help paying for hospital bills and car replacement or repairs. Families of killed drivers have done the same for funeral arrangements.

Lenny Sanchez, in a ball cap and orange T-shirt, leans his arm against the back windshield of a car.
Driver advocate Lenny Sanchez of Chicago says many drivers are now conveying weapons to protect themselves. Akilah Townsend

"Nosotros continuously invest in new products and policies to help protect drivers, and are exploring ways to aggrandize the use of our safety features to help prevent these incidents from happening and support drivers if they practice," said Ashley Adams, a Lyft spokesperson. Jodi Kawada Page, an Uber spokesperson, said, "What'southward been reported is extremely concerning … nosotros've sent safety information to drivers and couriers and are working with police on their investigations into these horrible crimes."

Neither company responded to allegations that they failed to help the drivers nosotros spoke to after they were carjacked.

With mounting fear in the gig worker community, some drivers have devised their own workarounds to endeavor and stay safe. In Chicago, for example, scared drivers take refused to go to sure neighborhoods, which means residents in those areas are seeing high-cost surge pricing and drops in bachelor rides. And in cities across the country, some drivers have bought dash cams, while others say they've started carrying weapons despite it being forbidden by the companies.

"We're not allowed to take whatever kind of weapon—knives, contumely duke, pepper spray, guns, baseball game bats. But that's not what nosotros're seeing now," said Lenny Sanchez, an Uber and Lyft driver in Chicago and co-founder of the Illinois chapter of driver advocacy group Independent Drivers Guild. "It's like the Old West—it's wild."

Norman is one of those drivers who started carrying a weapon. On the nighttime she picked up NBA, she had a handgun stashed nether the armrest of her center console.

Afterwards the human in the passenger seat punched her, Norman said, he ran around to the driver'south side to attempt to pull her out of the car. But she locked the door. At the same time, the man in the back seat grabbed her by the neck and started choking her, yelling, "Get your ass out of the car," according to the police report. But Norman stayed where she was. Afterwards getting hit repeatedly, Norman was finally able to elevator the armrest and get her gun.

"I merely started shooting," she said.

As the two men ran off, Norman said she sat there trying to take hold of her breath and wrap her mind around what had just occurred. She realized it all happened so fast that she still had on her seat belt.

Five days after the ordeal, xix News reported a female Uber driver in Cleveland was attacked in a nearly identical incident that had the same red flags Norman noted. Two weeks afterwards, it happened again to another Cleveland woman who drove for Lyft. In both cases, the women were reportedly beaten and the carjackers were able to make off with their cars, cellphones, and wallets. The suspects in these cases take nevertheless to be found. Nor have suspects been identified in Norman'south example.

In nearby Columbus, a 73-yr-old Lyft driver was attacked in the aforementioned way on April 11. She was left battered and bruised, and her 2015 silver Chevy was stolen. According to a police written report from the Columbus Division of Constabulary, "The victim pleaded with the suspects request them why…why…why? The chief suspect responded, 'Y'all're the chosen one for the twenty-four hour period.' "

As with Norman, Lyft's and Uber's algorithms paired all 3 women with their assailants. Neither company responded to requests for comments on these cases.

Driver advocates say Uber and Lyft accept not taken simple steps that could have prevented some of the incidents. The companies' apps brand information technology fairly elementary for people to create fake accounts with fake names and, oft, utilise untraceable payment methods, similar a souvenir card.

Bryant Greening, an chaser and co-founder of Chicago-based LegalRideshare, said he gets calls from drivers who've been carjacked on a weekly basis. He said Uber'south and Lyft's apps are set upwards in a way that can help potential carjackers.

"By allowing people to use fake names and not upload pictures of themselves, they give criminals a level of anonymity that makes them experience comfy committing the offense," he said.

Drivers take long complained about what they telephone call "phantom profiles," which are riders, similar NBA, who don't use their existent names or contour pictures. Reddit threads are filled with drivers swapping stories about allonym rider names like "The human being," "dark vader," and "KINK86." A Chicago ride-hail commuter started a petition calling on Uber and Lyft to ban fake names considering of rubber bug; it at present has more than than i,800 signatures.

"You lot wouldn't believe how many fake names we see well-nigh everyday," the petition reads. "Suppose you take this rider request and [the] name is 'meow meow' or 'daddy' or number '8.' "

You practice background checks on us. Did you do groundwork checks on NBA?

Old Lyft driver Cynthia Norman

To go on the platform, riders just demand an email address and phone number—both of which can be spoofed through simulated email accounts, gratuitous SMS services, and burner phones. For drivers it's a different story. They must utilize a regime issued ID, go through background checks, and have their name and a photo of themselves in the app.

"They shouldn't be able to put 'Pleasure P,' they should put their government name, plain and simple," Norman said. "You exercise groundwork checks on us. Did yous practise groundwork checks on NBA?"

Both Uber and Lyft have prepaid cards and gift cards available for riders who don't want to use credit or debit cards. When those untraceable payment methods are linked to accounts with simulated names and email addresses, it makes it like shooting fish in a barrel for passengers to be completely anonymous. In Apr, Uber announced that new accounts using a prepaid card, gift bill of fare, or Venmo would also need to upload a valid ID. "These additional verification requirements can human activity every bit a deterrent to those who are trying to use the app to cause impairment," Uber said in a blog mail.

While the company withal allows for allonym names, Uber spokesperson Page said it no longer lets riders set up new accounts or change their names using numbers, emojis, or symbols. She added that the company has assisted police enforcement in several carjacking arrests, including two incidents in Chicago. Uber also donated $25,000 to a Crimestoppers fund in Chicago to combat carjackings at that place. During police force investigations, both Uber and Lyft require regime to submit subpoenas, court orders, search warrants, or emergency disclosure requests for any information on declared assailants.

In June, Lyft followed Uber'southward lead and also stopped allowing new passenger accounts to use untraceable payment methods without boosted identification. But that policy is only currently agile in Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. Neither Lyft nor Uber responded to questions about whether passengers who already have accounts with anonymous payment methods have to retroactively upload an ID.

Advocates say the companies could do more to continue drivers safe, including banning prepaid cards, requiring all riders to apply a valid ID, and having passengers upload selfies before rides.

Lyft didn't comment on why passengers don't have to upload profile pictures and are allowed to utilize alias names and bearding payment methods. Uber's Page said it'southward optional for riders to upload profile photos, and that for payment methods, "not anybody has access to a bank account or a credit carte." Neither company responded to requests for comment on why they don't require valid IDs.

"When you remove the ability for potential offenders to remain anonymous, that volition oftentimes have a offense reduction effect," said Piza, the John Jay professor. "Not many people would practice a certain criminal offence if they have to reveal their identity."

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Flurry of Incidents

Lyft driver Elijah Newman had just moved to St. Louis when he was attacked in an attempted carjacking in Apr. He was originally from Ghana but had been living in the U.S. since 2011. He had one child in New Jersey and four in Ghana, whom he was working on bringing to the U.S.

Elijah Newman poses for a selfie.
Elijah Newman, who was killed in an attempted carjacking in Apr. Courtesy of Elizabeth Hylton

"When he moved hither, he was just making a new beginning," said Elizabeth Hylton, his roommate and long-fourth dimension friend, who created a GoFundMe for Newman's children. "Elijah, being the person he was, he was not going to give up his auto."

When police arrived at the scene of the incident on April 15, Newman was already dead in the driver'southward seat of his motorcar with a gunshot wound to his torso, according to charging documents from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police force Department. A probable cause statement obtained by The Markup said a Lyft lite was affixed to the front nuance and a bullet casing was next to Newman'due south trunk. The alleged aggressor had used a fake proper noun to hail the ride, according to the statement.

Photo of Elijah Newman on a couch surrounded by four of his children in Ghana
Newman with his four children who live in Ghana. From left to correct: Bethal, Abigail, Elijah, Ishmael, and Joseph. Courtesy of Elizabeth Hylton

When police knocked on Hylton'south door late that nighttime, she said she asked them if she needed to go get Newman from the hospital. "They were like, 'No he's gone, and we demand you to go verify the trunk,' " she said. "It was like a fist to the gut."

The alleged assailant, who admitted to being at the scene of the shooting, was apprehended by St. Louis police force a couple of days later and charged with beginning degree murder. That case is ongoing.

Newman is one of several ride-hail drivers killed in apparent botched carjackings over the last few months. Others include Uber drivers Javier Ramos and Joe Schelstraete, both of whom were fatally shot in the Chicago area in March and June, respectively; Uber driver Joshua Miller, who was killed in Dallas in January; Timothy Perkins, who besides drove for Uber and was fatally stabbed in Detroit in January; and Lyft commuter Kristopher Roukey, who was fatally shot in Akron, Ohio, in May. All of these drivers were matched to their attackers by Uber or Lyft'southward algorithms.

"He was lured in through the app," Sanchez, the Chicago driver organizer, said virtually Schelstraete. "It just crushes me."

Folio, the Uber spokesperson, said, "Regarding the drivers you referred to that lost their lives, we've reached out to all of their families to offer our condolences and support."

Adams of Lyft said, "We are heartbroken by these tragic incidents and take attempted to reach out to these drivers' families to offering our back up. We deactivated the accounts of the riders involved in these incidents the same mean solar day they were reported to us."

Dozens of incidents that don't involve Uber'due south or Lyft'due south algorithm accept also happened over the last year. Those usually involve people taking advantage of ride-hail drivers who are waiting for a ride or but finishing dropping off passengers. Mohammad Anwar, a Pakistani immigrant and Uber Eats driver was killed in Washington, D.C., in March, after 2 girls with an electrical stun gun approached him while he was parked so allegedly tried to carjack him.

"Gig workers' guards are downwards in a manner that normal drivers wouldn't be because they have strangers getting in and out of their cars," said Greening, the lawyer. "The nature of gig work requires that drivers take an unlocked vehicle and exist stopped on the side of the road … which makes them sitting ducks for a criminal who'south looking to commit this type of crime."

In many ways, gig workers are the perfect target.

Bryant Greening, LegalRideshare

"In many means, gig workers are the perfect targets," he added.

Local news articles tell bunko stories of passengers asking drivers to put something in the body simply to accept the riders take off with the machine. One commuter in Washington, D.C., was parked on the side of the road and livestreaming on Facebook when carjackers busted in and stole his vehicle. Other incidents involve Uber Eats or DoorDash delivery drivers dropping off food, only to find their motorcar gone when they return. In at least two of these episodes, the drivers' children were in the vehicle.

At the time of 1 of these incidents in San Francisco, DoorDash CEO Tony Xu said in a statement that he was "appalled" and "relieved that the children are rubber." Xu said the company was in contact with the commuter and had worked with law enforcement. Campbell Matthews, a DoorDash spokesperson, told The Markup in an e-mail, "We regularly transport communications on rubber tips and all-time practices" to workers and the company plans to add an emergency assistance button to its app "later this twelvemonth."

While The Markup has tracked more than 100 carjackings of ride-hail drivers over the past twelvemonth and a half, including three this month in Atlanta, Cleveland, and Central West, this number is far from comprehensive. Not all carjackings are covered by the local news, and most law departments don't compile stats on carjackings that happen specifically to ride-hail drivers. Non all drivers report the incidents either.

Uber and Lyft didn't respond to requests to provide data on the number of carjackings involving their drivers.

Sanchez said the Independent Drivers Social club regularly canvasses gig workers at O'Hare aerodrome and encounters about a dozen drivers per week who say they've experienced a carjacking or attempted carjacking. Chicago has some of the highest numbers of carjackings nationwide, along with the virtually known incidents of gig worker carjackings. The Markup tracked at to the lowest degree 44 carjackings of ride-hail drivers within the city's metro expanse. For comparing, other metro areas with a loftier number of gig worker carjackings that we've been able to confirm are Atlanta with nine and Cleveland with 12.

"Some [drivers] got in the media, some didn't. Some of them accept bullet holes in their cars, some don't," Sanchez said. "These companies have claret on their hands."

Lyft and Uber didn't respond to a request for comment on Sanchez's remark.

After being carjacked, ride-hail drivers' lives tin be turned upside down as they try to heal from injuries and recover their cars. Concluding September, Tommy Cross was driving for Lyft when he was attacked by three passengers in Oklahoma Metropolis. The night began with him agreeing to sub in for his wearied wife, who also drove for Lyft and was trying to get in a few more rides by a v a.m. deadline to earn a Lyft bonus. It ended with him in critical condition suffering from six bullet wounds.

Photo of masked Sheryl Cross leaning over Tommy in hospital bed
Tommy and Sheryl Cantankerous in the hospital after Tommy was shot half dozen times during a carjacking. Courtesy of Sheryl Cross

"When he was picking them up, he said, 'This isn't expert,' " said Sheryl Cross, Tommy's wife, who was on the phone with him at the fourth dimension. "He said he felt something right off the bat."

The specific details of what happened next aren't fully articulate, because Tommy said he went in and out of consciousness. According to an incident study from the Oklahoma City Police Department, police responded to a phone call reporting him lying in the middle of the route bleeding. He had visible gunshot wounds to his right arm, shoulder, and face. His motorcar was found crashed into a nearby garage with the airbags deployed.

Tommy spent more than than a week in the hospital and underwent six surgeries, including the reconstruction of his correct shoulder and side of his confront. He lost several teeth and some of his tongue, making information technology hard for him to speak. His right arm is permanently paralyzed.

"He can't even tie his shoes," Sheryl said, verging on tears. "I lost my machine, my hubby, money, everything we had, for a ride for six dollars and something cents."

The twenty-four hour period after the attack, Sheryl said someone from Lyft called and she yelled at them saying she needed help. That was the terminal contact she had with anyone from the company, she said. The Crosses' car was totaled, and fifty-fifty though they had insurance, it didn't cover the incident because it happened during a Lyft ride. Sheryl said she had no idea they needed separate insurance for that. "Information technology didn't even cover towing; they billed me for that likewise," she said.

Lyft didn't respond to requests for annotate on Tommy's carjacking and the visitor's lack of assistance subsequently the assault. Geico, the Crosses' insurance provider, didn't answer to a request for comment.

Two people were apprehended and pleaded guilty terminal month to charges of armed robbery and the shooting of Tommy. It's now been nearly x months since the incident, and the Crosses yet don't accept a car or any type of income. Sheryl said she'd never be a ride-hail driver again but would similar to do food deliveries; she set upward a PayPal Puddle fundraiser to try and get help to purchase a new car. "I just desire to have a vehicle," she said, "so nosotros can brand some money and work."

Some other Lyft commuter, who was carjacked in Chicago in Jan and wants to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation by his assailants, had a like experience trying to compensate the costs of his vehicle and belongings. The Markup was able to verify his account through a police news release on the incident.

He was attacked past two passengers, one of whom put a gun to his caput before the ride started and demanded he leave the auto. When the driver tried to take his backpack with him, the rider pistol-whipped him. The two passengers then took off with his machine, which has not been recovered. No one has been charged in his example.

The commuter'south insurance company said that considering he was driving for Lyft, his insurance doesn't cover annihilation—non his vehicle, cellphone, other items he had in his motorcar, similar expensive loftier-speed phone chargers, or loss of wages. He had separate insurance through Lyft, just it wouldn't comprehend anything but the loss of his car, and with that he was nevertheless on the hook for a $2,500 deductible.

The driver'due south insurance provider didn't respond to a asking for annotate. Lyft'south Adams didn't annotate specifically on this instance merely said individual claims are reviewed on a case-by-instance basis.

"I have to embrace my [automobile] loan. I don't know how to pay my bills. Even buying food right now for me is challenging," the driver said. "I don't know what to do next. It's a really really tough situation for me. And Lyft has a lot of holes in the system."

"Right at present, I'm cleaved."

Later being attacked at the shuttered sports arena in Cleveland, Norman said she headed directly to the police station. She reported what happened, then the police chosen an ambulance to take her to the emergency room, where she was treated for cuts, bruises, and an eye injury, which resulted in lasting vision loss. Despite her quick reaction that dark, the incident rattled her.

"I merely tin can't trust no one, menses," Norman said.

Other drivers who spoke with The Markup recounted similar feelings. David Morrow has been an Uber driver in Atlanta for more than 3 years and has given more than 4,700 trips. But after he was carjacked in Feb by two men with an assault rifle who stole his 2021 silver Honda Accord, according to an incident study from the Atlanta Police Section, he said he inverse his habits.

"I just work the airport," Morrow said. "People coming in on these flights, they're not in the concern of robbing. They only desire to get to their destination."

He's as well using a rental car through Uber, even though information technology costs around $300 a week. Morrow'due south Honda was recovered simply had nearly $ten,000 in damage, and he had to pay the $1,000 insurance deductible. "With this rental car if anything happens, the $i,000 is taken care of," Morrow said. No one has been charged in his carjacking. Uber didn't respond to a request for comment on his case.

Sanchez, the Chicago commuter organizer, said he'due south as well seeing drivers work only at the airport now. More gig workers told him they've started to behave weapons. And he fifty-fifty came across one driver wearing a bulletproof vest—it's the only way he feels condom working now, the driver told Sanchez. Sanchez himself quit driving for Uber and Lyft during the pandemic and hasn't withal returned.

"If information technology wasn't for this carjacking crisis I would definitely be out on the road," Sanchez said. But "I don't desire to die driving."

Sanchez said information technology'southward crucial that Uber and Lyft do whatever it takes to deter criminals from using the apps. To him, a mandatory selfie characteristic for passengers would be a practiced start. He said the photos don't have to be shared with drivers, but rather the companies could temporarily proceed them in their databases in case anything happens during a ride.

Some police departments, like Chicago and Oakland, accept issued warnings about carjackings of ride-hail drivers. Advocates say Uber and Lyft could also put those warnings in the apps. Dash cams would additionally be a good deterrent, advocates say. LegalRideshare, the firm Greening co-founded, has donated $10,000 to buy nuance cams for Chicago-based drivers.

Lyft didn't respond to a asking for comment about providing drivers with nuance cams. Uber's Page said drivers are gratis to install their own cameras, and so long every bit they comply with local police.

"It seems like a couple steps could be taken that would solve a lot of problems," Greening said. "We would like to see these billion-dollar companies come up with solutions, rather than leave information technology to drivers and small businesses, similar myself, to keep everyone safe. They're the innovators."

Norman said Lyft dealt her ane final accident after her feel with NBA. The 24-hour interval later the carjacking, a company representative named "Bob" called to say Lyft was investigating her account for a "potential violation" of its community guidelines and terms of service. She'd been driving with a gun. She'd worked for Lyft for most two and a half years, gave 1,636 rides, and had the highest driver rating possible—five stars. She had a license for the gun, according to the constabulary report on the incident.

"The safety of the Lyft community is our highest priority and we take decisions of this nature extremely seriously," Bob wrote to Norman in a follow-up email, which was provided to The Markup.

Two days later, when Norman looked at her Lyft app, it was overlaid with a message that said, "Your account has been permanently deactivated…. This determination has been reviewed and will remain terminal." It appears she was also kicked off the rider app after getting a message there that said, "Your account has been disabled."

As for NBA, Lyft spokesperson Adams said information technology let Norman know that "nosotros had taken action," but Norman said she never heard from Lyft again about whether he'd been deactivated. The company also didn't offer her any fiscal assistance for hospital fees, heart doc visits, or other costs that resulted from being paired with NBA on the app.

Despite everything, Norman said that when she talked to Bob, she told him she had no regrets about carrying the gun.

"If I can't have a firearm," she said, "I guess you gonna pay for my funeral."

Update

This article has been updated to include a response from Uber that came in later press time.