Yesterday, Katlyn Skye took to Twitter with a story that began with her being picked up by a Lyft driver, and ended with her leaping from a moving car. The beats of the story are unfortunately somewhat familiar. The driver started driving erratically, had a near-miss, then was seen entering a different address than the one she’d requested into “his own GPS.” Luckily, Skye noticed and entered her intended destination into her phone to track her progress.
A text from Lyft confirmed what she already knew, that she was not headed toward her destination, and provided her a link to click in case she needed help. She repeatedly told the driver they were going the wrong way, but was ignored. Finally, the driver claimed he didn’t speak English, which Skye claimed was untrue. Finally, she decided to wait until the driver slowed for a low-speed turn and jump. She did, and she ran to safety.
Once safe, she clicked on the link that Lyft sent her and filed a report. She was told Lyft would call her within 5 minutes, which didn’t happen. The company did send her numerous direct messages via the Lyft app and issued her a refund for her ride.
The next morning, she was informed that Lyft had banned her from using the service.
Hi Kat,
This is Yuri, and I’m part of the Safety team here at Lyft.
This email is to notify you that your account has been deactivated due to alleged safety violations on the Lyft platform. Specifically, we received a report that alleged you jumped out of the car while the vehicle was in motion.
We will be unable to service your needs as a rider on the Lyft platform any further. This decision is final.
Please reply directly to this email should you have any questions regarding this decision.
Thanks for your time,
In two follow-up emails, Lyft maintained that their decision to ban her was final and in one, suggested that she should have used a safety feature developed in cooperation with the security firm ADT.
Update, June 20 5:18 PM:
We have received the following from Lyft:
“Safety is fundamental to Lyft. We take reports like this seriously and always work to take immediate and corrective action. Regrettably, our first response came up short, and therefore, we have reactivated the rider’s account and contacted her to offer our support. Since day one, we have worked hard to design policies and features that help protect both drivers and riders, and we are always looking for ways to make Lyft an even safer platform for our community.” - Lyft Spokesperson