The House Business Affairs & Labor Committee voted to impose stricter safety requirements for rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft, with a representative who was allegedly sexually assaulted by a driver last year.

House Bill 1291, sponsored by Reps. Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn, and Meg Froelich, D-Englewood, and Sens. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, and Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge, would require rideshare companies to conduct background checks on drivers every six months and prohibit them from hiring applicants who have been convicted of crimes including domestic violence, stalking, and harassment. The bill also requires companies to investigate complaints about drivers within 72 hours, and if the allegations are found to likely be true, they must deactivate the driver’s account.

The bill also requires rideshare companies to record audio and video throughout each ride.

The bill passed on a 11-2 vote, with Reps. Max Brooks, R-Castle Rock, and Chris Richardson, R-Elizabeth, voting in opposition. Brooks said he supported the intent of the bill but believed the scope was too broad, while Richardson simply said he hoped to be a ‘yes’ vote when the measure hits the House floor with amendments.

The issue of rideshare safety is deeply personal for Willford. In February of 2024, she claims she was sexually assaulted by a Lyft driver who was not registered on the app and was using a friend’s account. Willford has since filed a lawsuit against Lyft, whom she said offered her a refund and promised not to match her with the driver again when she filed a complaint.

According to Willford, more than 15,000 Uber and Lyft riders were sexually assaulted between 2017 and 2022.

“Uber and Lyft have a severe and pervasive safety issue,” she told the committee on Thursday. They are in crisis, whether they want to admit it or not.”

Riders and drivers have been sounding the alarm on the industry’s lack of safety protections for years, Willford said, but their demands have fallen on deaf ears.

“I am bringing this bill today for every single survivor of an Uber or Lyft assault, and it’s unfortunate that both companies have been able to get away with putting profits ahead of safety,” she said. “These multibillion-dollar companies have had over a decade to clean up their act. They haven’t, and Colorado is done waiting.”

‘If safety is truly a priority’

Between 2018 and 2022, John Pastor-Mendoza preyed on women in the Denver Metro area, posing as a rideshare driver before kidnapping and sexually assaulting them.

One of those women was Marie Defoe, who, along with 11 other survivors, helped bring Pastor-Mendoza to justice — last October, he was convicted of 30 charges relating to kidnapping, sexual assault, and attempted sexual assault, receiving a sentence of 290 years to life.

“Had the industry implemented stronger safety measures, my story and the stories of so many others might not need to be told today,” said Defoe, who was kidnapped, strangled, and raped by Pastor-Mendoza in 2022. “No survivor should have to fight for safety after the fact. Safety must be baked into the system before tragedy strikes.”

If safety truly is a priority for Uber and Lyft like they say it is, bills that impose stronger protections should not be a debate, they should be a “moral and corporate responsibility,” said Defoe. With the rideshare industry bringing in over $50 billion in earnings each year, it’s “indefensible” that Uber and Lyft don’t apply more resources to protecting riders and drivers, she added.

“If corporations profit from the trust of the public, they must be held accountable for upholding that trust,” she said. “This bill is not just a policy change, it is a necessary safeguard to prevent others from enduring the same horror that I and so many others have suffered.”

Rideshare companies have marketed themselves as safe alternatives to driving for vulnerable populations like children, people with disabilities, and people under the influence of alcohol, said Elizabeth Newman of the Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

“Without proper safeguards and accountability in place, sexual assault rates can continue to grow, and this is unacceptable,” Newman said. “We must do better and demand more for ourselves, our children, our neighbors, our friends, and our communities. Consumers deserve to know that they will be safe when using a rideshare app; that they can receive service or make a living without the risk of sexual assault. Regardless of whether they passengers or in the driver’s seat, all people in Colorado should have the confidence that their safety will not be jeopardized as a cost of doing business.”

‘Safety is built into everything we do’

Uber has always been fully committed to ensuring the safety of its drivers and riders, said Ana Paula Penalva, the company’s public policy manager.

Uber was the first rideshare company to track trips, display driver and vehicle information before each ride, and enable real-time trip sharing for passengers, she said.

The company also requires frequent screenings and background checks for drivers and real-time identification checks via prompts for drivers to send selfies periodically to ensure they match the photo in the identification Uber has on file.

“Safety is built into everything that we do,” Penalva said. “We have been industry leaders from day one by leveraging technology, transparency and accountability to help make transportation safer not just for riders, but also for drivers and the broader community.”

The bill would not do anything to significantly enhance safety or Uber riders and drivers, and could “unintentionally undermine” the company’s progress, she added.

Stefanie Sass, Uber’s public policy manager, called the bill’s requirements “onerous, costly, and unfeasible to implement”.

The data sharing components of the bill could also conflict with the Colorado Privacy Act and open the doors to lawsuits and higher rates for riders.

“While we fully support the intent of this bill, we have concerns with the language, which we believe will not significantly enhance rider safety or achieve its intended goals,” she said.

‘I’ve lived with a trauma that refuses to stay quiet’

According to Willford, when she informed Lyft that the man who allegedly assaulted her had been charged with felony menacing just months before her attack, she said the company responded by telling her “not everything is perfect.”

“Since last February, I’ve lived with a trauma that refuses to stay quiet,” Willford told the committee in her closing comments. “Sexual assault is insidious. It’s not something that you get over, it’s something you carry, and what I carry is a constant reminder that these companies knew better and did nothing.”