Rideshare drivers sound alarm on escalating violence

It's a quiet night in one of Australia's largest cities when rideshare driver John* accepts a trip request from a passenger. He greets the two people who enter his vehicle, makes small talk and confirms their destination. But something doesn't feel right. The pair insist on being dropped off at disparate locations. The situation takes a turn when John asks them to adjust the journey in the app. "They said their phone was switched off," he tells AAP. "By that time, I was on the freeway driving … the car was going 100km/h and the guy pulled a knife on me." This is not uncommon, John says. He believes it's a matter of time before a driver is seriously or fatally injured by an aggressive passenger. "I am very scared of going into some areas," he adds nervously. Uber says drivers can't see full trip details before accepting a ride but do have full fare transparency. The amount of information provided depends on a driver's status in the Uber Rewards program. At the basic level, they are unable to view a journey's duration or direction. However the program's highest tier diamond drivers can gain access to features referred to as duration visibility, extra destinations and priority airport rematch. Drivers earn reward points faster during peak times like weekday rush hours and overnight on weekends. "They show less and less information about where we are going," John says. "It's very unsafe and we are extremely vulnerable. "Roads can be confusing at times, even when you're using navigation. You can always miss a turn here and there if there is a lot of traffic." He says he no longer feels safe to access rides after dark and his acceptance rate has plummeted in response. This has led him to be bumped to the most basic level of the program. "Depending upon which tier you sit in, you get discounts," John explains. "The top tier can access where that customer is going, the pick-up point and the destination point, which is very important for the safety of the driver," he says. He now feels pressured to accept rides he would have previously cancelled. He recalls an incident where he accepted a ride request only to discover it was for a large business delivery. Feeling compelled to maintain his acceptance rate and reluctant to cancel, he went ahead with the job but the promised tip never came through. "They started hurling racist comments at me, saying 'you're just a f***ing brown taxi boy ... Go back from where you come from'," John recalls. "Many people could be going through these similar scenarios but just go under the radar." Peter*, another Uber driver who has completed more than 17,000 trips, tells AAP he had a passenger use drugs before threatening him with a firearm while driving at night. "They pulled out the gun, they showed me and asked me to stop at the bottle shop," he says. "I don't think I drove for three days after that." A 2023 report focusing on transport workers across the country showed 55 per cent of gig workers, which include rideshare drivers, have experienced threatening or abusive behaviour. About 43 per cent of those surveyed reported being abused by a customer as a significant concern, while 51 per cent felt pressured to rush or take risks to make enough money or protect their job. Uber says it has a "zero tolerance for any form of discriminatory behaviour". "We are deeply committed to the safety of everyone who uses the Uber platform, this includes both riders and driver partners," according to a company spokesperson. ""Our Community Guidelines clearly explain what behaviour isn't appropriate and what will cause someone to lose access to their Uber account. "We work to inform driver partners and riders about those standards and take action to hold them accountable for their behaviour." Debra Weddall is the president of the Rideshare Driver Network. A former driver, she helped establish the collective after a colleague was knocked unconscious and dumped on a roadside. "A couple of us said, we need to organise this," she recalls. "We were being abused." Ms Weddall believes driver safety will only improve if Uber treats drivers as employees, not independent contractors. Despite a 2019 Fair Work Ombudsman ruling that classified drivers as contractors, the Rideshare Driver Network has filed a case in the Federal Court. It is scheduled for hearing next year. They're calling for full employment rights including paid work hours, guaranteed leave, superannuation and proper safety protections. "It would make it safer," Ms Weddall says. * John and Peter are pseudonyms