The largest rideshare company in America said it will be forced to stop operations in Colorado if a bill that places certain regulations on transportation network companies becomes law. 

House Bill 1291 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 legislation — sponsored by Reps. Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn, and Meg Froelich, D-Englewood, and Sens. Faith Winter, D-Westminster, and Jessie Danielson, D-Wheat Ridge — also requires companies to investigate complaints about drivers within 72 hours. 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. 

Uber: Viability in Colorado at risk

In a letter sent to House and Senate leadership, Camiel Irving, Uber’s vice president of operations, acknowledged the bill’s intent to protect riders and drivers from sexual assault, “a goal Uber shares,” she said.

However, the company would not be unable to comply with the bill as it is currently written, Uber said in a letter. 

“We’ve taken an industry-leading approach, guided by safety experts, to prevent safety incidents and support survivors,” Irving said. “Uber has invested in numerous safety features that allow users to share their trip with trusted contacts, connect seamlessly in-app with 911, and give users 24/7 support.”

Uber also requires drivers to complete mandatory sexual misconduct education and has developed a partnership with the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), Irving said.

According to Irving, “serious safety incidents” are rare — a recent report found that 99.9998% of U.S. trips ended without a serious incident, and the company has seen a 44% decrease in its sexual assault rate since it began publishing data on the matter. 

“Unfortunately, the TNC Consumer Protection Bill threatens to undermine this progress with several unworkable provisions,” Irving wrote. 

Those provisions include: 

• Mandating audio and video recording of every ride. According to Uber, the company already offers drivers the option to record rides, but making it a requirement is “demanding the impossible, since TNCs face insurmountable technical and logistical challenges to guaranteeing that all trips are recorded”

• Requiring rideshare companies to publicly share all rider and driver comments, which Uber said “further compromises user privacy”

• Creating a private right of action (PRA) for riders, which Uber said could hold drivers liable for “unspecified ‘harms'” for minor or technical violations or violations that are difficult to enforce. “Unnecessary PRAs add to an already crowded court system, as trial lawyers are likely to pursue any opportunity for new lawsuits which will drive up costs that are ultimately passed on to consumers,” Irving wrote.

The company also argued that the bill targets specific transportation networks while exempting others, such as taxis and shuttles. 

“Taxis have no audio/video recording requirements, and yet there is less of a record in terms of who is in the vehicle (both rider and driver), a lack of safety features similar to those available in Uber’s app, and no ability for riders to easily notify loved ones or law enforcement of where they are if anything were to happen while on trip,” Irving wrote. “Targeting only certain TNCs is arbitrary given the bill purports to ensure all transportation modes are safe.”

Irving said companies like Uber want to work with legislative leadership to find a path forward.

“However, the current trajectory puts the long-term viability of Uber in Colorado at risk,” she said.

Emails were also sent to Uber riders and drivers in Colorado, explaining what the bill does and that it will “force Uber to shut down statewide” if it is passed in its current form, Irving said.

She added, “We believe there’s a better way to ensure safety and accessibility without sacrificing your privacy or forcing Uber out of the state, and we’re ready to find a middle ground. But time is running out: the legislative session ends May 7th, so your immediate action is crucial.”

The email included a link to email lawmakers and a sign up form to testify against the bill in committee.

When reached for comment, Lyft sent the following statement: “We believe there is a compromise that can be reached that would be beneficial for both riders and drivers, but there are still several aspects of the bill that would make implementation extremely problematic.”

The company added: “At the very least, it would have a drastic, negative impact on those who use the platform in a way that does not help achieve the goal of the legislation. We encourage Senate officials to collaborate with us on a bill that addresses these realities and avoids the unintended consequences the current version creates.”

As of Wednesday, the bill has passed through the House and is awaiting second reading in the Senate. Because amendments were made in Senate committee, it must go back to the House for concurrence.

Lawmaker: Rideshare companies are ‘in crisis’

The issue of rideshare safety is personal for Willford. In February of 2024, she claimed, 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. The rideshare company offered her a refund and promised not to match her with the driver again when she filed a complaint, Willford said. 

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 House Business Affairs & Labor Committee earlier this month. “They are in crisis, whether they want to admit it or not.”

Uber has been a defendant in a number of lawsuits by riders who claimed they were sexually assaulted by a driver. A consolidated case in California District Court currently has over 1,400 plaintiffs from 29 states and is expected to gain even more before going to trial in December.

In Colorado, a man was recently convicted of 30 charges relating to kidnapping, sexual assault and attempted sexual assault, receiving a sentence of 290 years to life. He was found to have kidnapped and sexually assaulted at least a dozen women in the Denver metro area by impersonating a rideshare driver over a four-year period.

Willford released the following statement after the letter was issued:

“The bottom line is one sexual assault is one too many, but for Uber, 8,900 aren’t enough to take action. This is a cynical and disheartening move by a multibillion dollar company to turn their back on survivors rather than implement real safety measures,” she said.

She added: “We have worked with Uber in good faith for months and accepted many of their amendment requests, including a full rewrite of the bill. For years, Uber has checked the box on safety, but time after time failed to deliver for victims.”