Uber and Lyft Want Congress to Let Them Off the Hook; Rideshare platforms want Washington to reduce their exposure to lawsuits.

By Aaron Short

Uber and Lyft are lobbying Capitol Hill to include sweeping immunity language in the next federal transportation spending bill — while nearly 1,900 sexual assault survivors are demanding that congressional leaders pull it.

The rideshare companies support an amendment to the $580 billion surface transportation reauthorization proposal that would shield them from liability in cases involving car crashes, assaults and sexual harassment.

The legislation would classify firms like Uber and Lyft as operators of digital networks instead of common carriers like bus companies, who currently bear responsibility for their drivers’ conduct. The same legislation preempts state-level regulations that would define rideshare companies as carriers.

If the amendment survives, insurance firms would begin holding rideshare drivers personally responsible for passenger injuries, unless a court decides that rideshare companies engaged in criminal activity or deems them “grossly negligent” — a much higher bar than current law.

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Lyft did not respond to questions about the bill. But Uber spokesperson Ryan Thorton said the liability amendment was necessary to combat frivolous cases, whose associated costs inflate the price of ridesharing. 

“Rideshare companies like Uber are too often sued simply because of their high insurance coverage, even when the company is not alleged to be at fault,” Thorton told Streetsblog. “This is a commonsense reform to help stop these unnecessary and abusive auto accident lawsuits, which drive up rideshare prices for consumers nationwide.”

But survivor advocates and consumer watchdogs point out that rideshare companies are facing increased litigation because the underlying number of legally actionable events, like sexual assault, has risen over the past several years. Between 2017 and 2022, Uber received a report of sexual assault or misconduct once every eight minutes. 

Joanne Doroshow, executive director of the Center for Justice & Democracy at New York Law School, said the liability provision would effectively prevent passengers from holding rideshare companies accountable for their drivers’ actions. 

“Of course they’re at fault,” she said. “It’s their platform. They are the ones connecting drivers to passengers. They bear some responsibility for the conduct of those drivers, who take passengers somewhere in an inherently dangerous instrument — a car.”

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