Ride sharing apps' anti-discrimination policies may not be adequate to ensure that their drivers treat all races equally, US Senator Al Franken wrote in a letter to the CEOs of Uber and Lyft this week.
Franken's letter was in response to the results of an academic study that found glaring differences in the amount of time it took African-Americans to find a ride compared to their white counterparts.
Franken, who is the ranking member of the Senate's Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, requested that Uber and Lyft provide more detail on their efforts to guard against discrimination in the process of accepting ride requests. He suggested several modifications to the ride request process, including preventing drivers from viewing the names and photographs of riders before they accept a trip.
The study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found that riders were dropped twice as often when they used African-American sounding names, compared to when the same riders used white-sounding names.
Franken also suggested that Uber and Lyft take a tougher stance against drivers who violate existing anti-discrimination policies, and that the companies collect data on driver behavior, such as wait times across passengers and the frequency of canceled rides.
During the study, research assistants took more than 1,400 Uber and Lyft rides in Seattle and Boston. They found that some African Americans waited up to 35 percent longer for a ride than white customers did.
The researchers pointed out, however, that discrimination among transportation network companies like Lyft and Uber "is not necessarily worse than the current taxi system." A Lyft spokesperson also highlighted taxi discrimination, arguing that "because of Lyft, people living in underserved areas — which taxis have historically neglected — are now able to access convenient, affordable rides."
Uber and Lyft have until Dec. 16 to respond to Franken's suggestions and concerns.