In one case, the Lyft driver allegedly stole a blind woman’s cane and then raped her.

In retrospect, the whole “mustache ride” campaign was a kind of a creepy and ill-advised marketing gimmick back in the early days of the rideshare company Lyft, but the brand still always came off as more conscientious than their far more sexual misconduct-plagued rival, Uber. That benefit of the doubt may be finished, though, as 14 women — described as Jane Roe 1 through 14, though a few bravely identified themselves publicly — have just filed suit against Lyft over rape and sexual assault claims according to BuzzFeed. The suit, filed Wednesday in San Francisco Superior Court, alleges that Lyft drivers have sexually assaulted more than 100 women in California alone between 2014 and 2016, and Lyft has failed to enact common-sense precautions like background checks, cameras in the cars, or in-app panic buttons.    

There are some profoundly horrible stories from the victims. In one case, a driver allegedly escorted a blind woman into her home, stole her cane, and raped her. In another case, a driver is charged with raping a woman, and then stealing her phone and giving himself a $25 tip. Yet another woman endured an alleged five-hour, multiple-rape ordeal where her driver was allegedly smoking crack.

“Lyft could make simple changes to their app to protect passengers and eliminate future assaults but they have chosen not to," said the plaintiffs’ attorney Mike Bomberger. "We believe Lyft knows how many assaults occur within their cars and that is why they don't want Lyft rides recorded."

Bay City News has the details of a Bay Area incident, where a driver took two women from San Francisco to Palo Alto, and penetrated Jane Doe 11 under her skirt while both women were asleep. Her friend awoke and recorded the incident, which did lead to the driver’s arrest.  

The plaintiffs feel that video cameras ought to simply be included in every Lyft vehicle. Lyft argues that they do have safeguards in place, including harassment prevention training (which is voluntary for drivers, and not mandatory!).

Lyft's head of trust and safety said in a statement to CNN that “As a platform committed to providing safe transportation, we hold ourselves to a higher standard by designing products and policies to keep out bad actors, make riders and drivers feel safe, and react quickly if and when an incident does occur. Our commitment is stronger than ever, as we dedicate more resources in our continued effort to ensure our riders and drivers have the safest possible experience."

CNN’s version of the story touts their 2018 report that at least 103 women had been raped or assaulted on Uber rides. That report notes that both companies use a background check tool called Checkr, which, in true tech industry fashion, does everything digitally with no face-to-face contact with applicants.

Related: Last Night, My Uber Driver Said He Was Going To Rape And Kill Me [SFist]

Image: adamdachis via Flickr