Uber^® & Lyft^® Rideshare Statistics

Rideshare Industry Statistics: How Big Are Uber and Lyft?

Since Uber’s founding in 2009, rideshare apps have transformed the way people get around, making it simple to hail a vehicle with a few taps on your phone. Together, Uber and Lyft dominate the U.S. rideshare market, serving tens of millions of users every day, according to company data.

But with over 400,000 reports of sexual assault on Uber rides and thousands more on Lyft, the companies now face intensifying scrutiny over how they screen drivers and protect riders from abuse.

Rideshare industry statistics provide a broad look at where these companies are falling short in terms of public safety and the thousands of sexual assault lawsuits pending against Uber and Lyft.

Uber Statistics

Uber operates in over 15,000 cities around the globe, offering services like ridesharing, food delivery, and freight shipping. However, in recent years Uber has faced criticism and been the subject of litigation for sexual assaults allegedly committed by drivers on the platform.

Find out more about key Uber statistics:

• As of Q1 2026, Uber reported over 9.9 million active drivers and couriers globally, according to the company’s internal reports.
• Uber completed over 13.5 billion trips worldwide in 2025 and averages more than 37 million trips daily, per publicly released company data.
• In 2026, Uber had 47.4 million active U.S. users and held approximately 76% of the U.S. rideshare market by revenue, according to Backlinko.
• Approximately 70% of Uber drivers drove part-time (fewer than 30 hours per week), according to an analysis of the Chicago market by HR&A Advisors.
• Uber reported 127 fatal motor vehicle crashes and 153 total fatalities in 2021 and 2022 in their most recent U.S. Safety Report.
• Between 2021 and 2022, there were 2,717 sexual assaults during Uber rides in the U.S., according to the safety report. However, court documents suggest that many more incidents were not included in that figure.

With the platform's enormous reach, even rare safety problems translate into thousands of real people being affected. To date, over 4,397 lawsuits have been filed against Uber for not doing enough to protect riders from dangers like sexual abuse.

Lyft Statistics

Serving 650 North American cities, Lyft is the second most popular rideshare platform in the U.S. Although the company operates at a fraction of Uber’s size, they face many of the same safety challenges. That includes reports of thousands of sexual assaults, which have led to multiple lawsuits.

Learn more about essential Lyft statistics:

• In Q1 2026, Lyft reached 28.3 million active users, according to the company’s financial report.
• Lyft holds 24% of the U.S. rideshare market by revenue, making it the only significant competitor to Uber in the American market.
• Lyft drivers completed approximately 946 million rides in 2025, according to public financial disclosures.
• Approximately 91% of Lyft drivers also have other jobs or attend school, per Lyft’s 2025 economic impact report.
• 50 people died in accidents during Lyft rides in 2022, according to the most recent safety report.
• There were 1,038 incidents of sexual assault on Lyft rides in 2022, the company reported.

If you’ve been harmed during an Uber or Lyft ride, a rideshare attorney at Sokolove Law can help you explore your legal options.

Uber and Lyft Sexual Assault Statistics

Hailing a rideshare means getting into a vehicle with a stranger, often alone. Passengers and drivers need to be able to trust that safety measures are in place to prevent sexual assault and misconduct both during and after the ride.

Although Uber has implemented additional safety measures in recent years, survivors claim many came only after years of reported sexual assaults. Evidence in the first bellwether trial showed the company's own risk assessment tool flagged the ride as a high-risk match between rider and driver.

Uber and Lyft sexual assault statistics provide a window into the types of incidents that have taken place during rides and how these companies may be prioritizing profits and expansion over rider safety.

Uber Sexual Assault Statistics

Between 2017 and 2022, Uber received reports of sexual assault or misconduct at an average rate of 1 every 8 minutes in the United States, a New York Times investigation revealed. Public safety reports may only cover a fraction of the incidents that lead to complaints.

Thousands of sexual assault cases against Uber have now been consolidated into a multidistrict litigation (MDL), which streamlines the legal process for those pursuing claims across the country.

Here are key Uber sexual assault statistics:

• Court records revealed 400,181 reports of sexual assault or misconduct on Uber's platform between 2017 and 2022, according to The New York Times.
• Uber's own public safety reports disclosed far fewer incidents during the same period: 5,981 reports in 2017-2018, 3,824 in 2019-2020, and 2,717 in 2021-2022.
• Uber classified sexual assault incidents into 5 categories in their most recent safety report: nonconsensual touching, nonconsensual kissing of non-sexual body parts, nonconsensual touching of sexual body parts, attempted nonconsensual sexual penetration, and nonconsensual sexual penetration.
• 1,401 cases of nonconsensual touching of a sexual body part were reported from 2021 to 2022.
• The company reported 355 incidents of nonconsensual sexual penetration from 2021 to 2022.
• Sexual assault claims occurred in about 1 out of 5 million Uber rides, according to the company’s safety report.
• Drivers are the accused party in 68% of sexual assault incidents, while passengers account for 31% in the latest safety report.
• 3 public pension funds sued leaders at Uber, accusing them of collecting millions in bonuses linked to the company’s safety record even as they concealed the number of alleged Uber sexual assaults, according to Forbes.

Uber has stated that 99.9% of U.S. rides occur without any reported safety incident. However, that publicly reported figure is a fraction of the 400,000-plus incidents of sexual assault or misconduct documented in court records.

Lyft Sexual Assault Statistics

Uber’s main U.S. competitor, Lyft, faces many similar problems with sexual assault incidents and a resulting MDL filed in California.

Numerous allegations of sexual abuse committed by Lyft drivers have been documented in safety reports and lawsuits filed in court.

Notable Lyft sexual assault statistics include:

• Between 2017 and 2022, 6,809 Lyft sexual assault incidents occurred in the U.S., according to the company’s safety reports.
• Lyft reported 615 complaints of nonconsensual touching of a sexual body part in 2022 alone.
• There were 725 reported incidents of nonconsensual sexual penetration on Lyft rides from 2017-2022, according to the company.
• Sexual assaults occurred in 1 out of 520,000 U.S. trips in 2022, per to the company’s safety report.

Like Uber, Lyft insists that rider safety is a top priority and notes that sexual assault cases account for a tiny fraction of rides. However, ongoing lawsuits against the company are revealing more of the harrowing stories behind rideshare sexual assault statistics.

If you’ve experienced sexual misconduct or assault while using a rideshare service, our Uber and Lyft lawyers may be able to help you seek justice. Contact us now for a free case review.

Statistics on Uber Lawsuits for Sexual Assault

The legal response to rideshare sexual assault has led to one of the largest active personal injury mass torts in the United States. Thousands of survivors have filed claims against Uber, leading to an unprecedented disclosure of internal company safety records.

Uber sexual assault lawsuit statistics include:

• At least 4,397 lawsuits are currently pending against Uber in federal MDL No. 3084 in the Northern District of California.
• In February 2026, the first federal bellwether trial resulted in an $8.5 Million rideshare verdict for a survivor in Phoenix, Arizona. This was the first time an Uber sexual assault case was decided by a federal jury.
• The second bellwether trial, which ran from April to May of 2026, resulted in a $5,000 award but produced a landmark legal finding: The jury determined that Uber qualifies as a common carrier, imposing a heightened duty of care to protect passengers.
• A Georgia judge ruled in July 2026 that Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi must sit for a deposition in a separate sex trafficking lawsuit involving a 14-year-old victim.

The Uber sexual abuse MDL continues to grow with each new filing cycle as more survivors come forward to seek justice and accountability.

What Internal Records Revealed About Uber Sexual Assault Statistics

Uber's public disclosures about sexual assault cases have faced scrutiny, with legal proceedings uncovering hundreds of thousands more incidents than the company initially reported. Critics accuse the company of policy decisions that failed to prioritize rider safety.

Find out more about key statistics from Uber's internal records:

• Uber publicly disclosed approximately 12,522 sexual assaults between 2017 and 2022. Court records showed 400,181 total incidents during the same period, a gap of more than 30 times the publicly reported figure.
• Uber tested in-car cameras in 2014 but declined to require them company-wide, citing concerns about drivers’ employment classification and costs, as reported by the New York Times.
• A program pairing women passengers with women drivers, which internal research showed would improve safety, was shelved in the U.S. This decision was due in part to projected costs exceeding $100 Million, according to the New York Times.
• Uber's own risk-scoring algorithm flagged the driver who was accused in the first bellwether trial as a potential danger to his passenger, but the platform dispatched him anyway, Courthouse News reported.
• A senior Uber executive testified during the first bellwether trial that the company "has not done enough" to prevent sexual assaults on their platform, according to Law360.

These disclosures have defined the litigation strategy for thousands of survivors, whose claims argue that Uber was aware of the problem and chose growth over passenger safety.

For more than 45 years, Sokolove Law has fought for justice for families. If you’ve been harmed because of an Uber ride, our rideshare sexual abuse attorneys may be able to assist you.

Lyft and Uber Kidnapping Statistics 2026

Lyft and Uber don’t report statistics on kidnapping specifically. However, kidnapping has been a part of sexual assault cases and other rideshare crimes. Considering instances of Lyft and Uber kidnapping reveals how these dangerous and terrifying situations can develop.

Lyft and Uber kidnapping incidents include:

• In May 2018, an Uber driver in Philadelphia was charged with allegedly kidnapping a 15-year-old girl who managed to escape while he was distracted.
• In January 2023, a former Lyft driver was sentenced to 5 years in prison after allegedly kidnapping a passenger in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and sexually assaulting her in 2 different locations.
• In January 2026, 4 rideshare drivers were federally indicted for kidnapping and sexually assaulting passengers in the Houston area.
• In June 2026, an Uber driver was arrested in Doral, Florida and charged with kidnapping and sexually battering a woman who believed she was drugged.

As these horrifying crimes illustrate, kidnapping can be a part of the dangers involving rideshare platforms, even if that isn’t clear from the available safety statistics.

Rideshare Accident Statistics

Driving always involves the chance of a serious accident. In 2024 alone, 42,789 people died in U.S. crashes, the National Safety Council reported.

Because of all the time they spend on the road, rideshare drivers are 73% more likely than other drivers to be involved in an accident, according to Insurify data.

Rideshare accident statistics can help to understand how the risks of hailing a Lyft or Uber compare with driving yourself.

Uber Accident Statistics

Uber reports fatality rates below the national average on a per-mile basis. However, independent research has found that rideshare services like Uber may be linked to a notable increase in overall traffic deaths nationally.

Learn more about Uber accident statistics:

• Uber's reported fatality rate was 0.87 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in 2021-2022, below the national average of 1.35 per 100 million VMT recorded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) for the same period.
• Researchers at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business linked the introduction of ridesharing services to a 3% annual increase in U.S. fatal accidents nationally, equivalent to approximately 987 additional deaths per year.
• 56% of Uber-involved fatalities involved at least one risky driving behavior, and 29% included a driver under the influence of alcohol. However, Uber's reports note that in most cases, another party rather than the Uber driver was responsible.
• 97% of fatalities from Uber crashes occurred in urban settings, according to the company’s safety reports.

Official Uber crash statistics only count incidents that occur while a driver is on the way to pick up a passenger or has a passenger in the vehicle. Crashes during the time when drivers are in between rides may not be included in these figures.

Lyft Accident Statistics

Lyft's crash data mirrors Uber's in many respects, with both platforms reporting fatality rates below the national average.

However, the same underlying reporting limitations mean we may not have a full picture of accidents that occur while drivers are using the platform.

Notable Lyft accident statistics include:

• Lyft reported a fatality rate of 1.02 per 100 million VMT in 2022, above Uber's 0.87 rate but still below the NHTSA national average of 1.35.
• Lyft reported 216 motor vehicle fatalities involving their platform between 2017 and 2022 in published safety reports.
• Lyft's reported motor vehicle fatalities trended upward from 2017 to 2019, fell during the pandemic, and climbed back to near-peak levels in 2022, tracking closely with overall ridership patterns.
• Like Uber, Lyft doesn’t count crashes that occur when drivers are between rides, meaning published figures may undercount total crashes.

Across both platforms, the fatality data tells a similar story: Ridesharing is statistically safer per mile than the national driving average. With that said, the sheer volume of trips means the total number of people harmed remains significant.

Liability in a car accident involving a rideshare vehicle can be complicated and depends on local laws. If you were in a crash involving an Uber or Lyft, talk to an attorney at Sokolove Law about your situation. Call (800) 995-1212 now.

Rideshare Driver Safety Statistics

The safety risks of rideshare work don't just affect passengers. Long hours in a vehicle can be hard on drivers’ bodies, and in some cases, they have been attacked, robbed, or murdered.

These issues can be worsened by the fact that drivers lack the financial protections of traditional employment. As independent contractors, they may have limited options for addressing the dangers they encounter while working.

Lyft and Uber Driver Safety Statistics

Lyft and Uber drivers may face occupational hazards, including physical assault and robbery. Although the platform has introduced features like a verified rider badge and recording tools to give contractors greater peace of mind, drivers still face significant safety concerns.

Here are some essential Uber and Lyft driver safety statistics:

• Uber crime statistics reveal 36 fatalities from physical assaults in 2021-2022, up from 20 in 2019-2020, an 80% increase. Drivers were the victims in 61% of attacks, and 32% of the deaths involved a carjacking, according to Uber assault statistics released by the company.
• Lyft reported 23 driver fatalities from physical assaults from 2020 to 2022, up from 10 in 2017-2019.
• The company noted that these events represented 1 in 62 million trips and mirrored a nationwide increase in homicides and carjackings during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Common health problems for rideshare drivers include muscle and joint pain. About 34% of rideshare drivers reported lower back pain and 11% reported neck pain, according to the University of Miami.
• Rideshare drivers face 28% higher insurance premiums than average, according to Insurify. Coverage requirements can shift between personal, rideshare, and commercial phases, creating gaps that leave drivers financially vulnerable in the event of an incident.

Both Uber and Lyft drivers carry the risks of physical harm and the financial exposure of vehicle depreciation and fuel costs. Meanwhile, the platforms they work for are not obligated to offer protections like workers' compensation.

Rideshare App Safety Features: What the Statistics Show

Uber and Lyft have introduced a range of safety features in recent years, and both companies now point to declining incident rates as evidence of progress.

Critics argue the improvements are insufficient and came only after legal and public pressure related to rideshare sexual assault litigation.

Find out more about rideshare safety feature statistics:

• Uber claims a 38% decrease in the rate of serious sexual assault reports between their first (2017-2018) and second (2019-2020) safety reporting periods. Critics argue the decline primarily reflects reduced pandemic ridership rather than improved safety.
• Both Uber and Lyft now offer 24/7 dedicated safety support lines accessible through the app during or after a ride.
• Uber introduced an emergency SOS button in 2018 following public pressure after a string of high-profile assaults.
• As of 2026, Uber has rolled out RideCheck, a feature that uses GPS and accelerometer data to detect potential accidents or unexpected trip events.
• Uber and Lyft both run background checks on drivers. At least 45 states and Washington, D.C. legally require a check, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office. However, the requirements vary by state, and some may be more thorough than others.

Uber's internal research found opportunities to make rides safer, but the company did not always put those findings into action. Sexual assault lawsuits can hold the company accountable for failing to prioritize riders’ safety.

Lyft and Uber Settlements

Uber and Lyft sexual assault cases are still working their way through the courts, with the first bellwether case ending in an $8.5 Million verdict.

While the rideshare companies are not yet settling all of the lawsuits in the multidistrict litigation, they have paid settlements in a number of previous lawsuits. As these examples show, riders and employees can get compensation and change how the companies operate through the legal system.

Here are some important Lyft and Uber settlements:

• In 2016, Uber agreed to pay $28.5 Million to around 25 million riders to settle a California class action lawsuit over charging a “safe ride fee.”
• In 2021, Uber settled with the California Public Utilities Commission over failing to provide information about sexual assaults and harassment by paying $9 Million to support various safety initiatives.
• In 2024, to settle a lawsuit filed by the Attorney General of Massachusetts over paying drivers less than required by state law, Uber agreed to a settlement of $148 Million, and Lyft agreed to pay $27 Million.
• In 2026, Lyft paid a $63,000 settlement to a blind passenger in Minnesota who was not allowed to bring her guide dog along for a ride, as reported by the Associated Press.

Through settlements and trial verdicts, the nation’s biggest rideshare companies are being held accountable for their actions. If you’ve been harmed because of negligence by Uber or Lyft, you may have legal options.

What the Lyft and Uber Statistics Mean for Survivors

Rideshare sexual abuse statistics show that hundreds of thousands of people have been impacted to date, and more lawsuits continue to be filed. If you or someone you love was sexually assaulted by an Uber or Lyft driver, you may be able to pursue legal accountability through a civil claim.

A lawsuit could recover damages to help with medical care, therapy, lost wages, and more. With over 4,397 cases pending against Uber, now is the time to pursue justice. Every state has a statute of limitations, which may limit your ability to act in the future.

At Sokolove Law, we've spent over 45 years helping people harmed by powerful companies. Our team is available 24/7, and there is no cost to speak with us.

Call (800) 995-1212 now or fill out our contact form to get started with a free case review.

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