Woman claims she was banned from Lyft after she escaped a harrowing ride by jumping out of a car: UPDATE

Yesterday, Katlyn Skye was on Twitter with a story that begins with her being picked up by a Lyft driver and ends with her jumping out of a moving car. Unfortunately, the rhythm of the story is a bit familiar. The driver began driving erratically, nearly skidding, then was seen entering an address different from the one she requested into his “own GPS”. Luckily, Skye noticed and entered her intended destination into her phone to track her progress.

A message from Lyft confirms what she already knows, that she’s not getting to her destination, and provides her with a link to click on in case she needs help. She repeatedly told the driver they were going the wrong way, but was ignored. In the end, the driver insisted he did not speak English, which Skye asserted was untrue. In the end, she decided to wait until the driver slowed down to turn at a low speed and hop on. She did, and she ran to safety.

Once it was safe, she clicked the link Lyft sent her and submitted the report. She was told that Lyft would call her within 5 minutes, but that didn’t happen. The company sent her numerous direct messages via the Lyft app and refunded her for her trip.

The next morning, she was informed that Lyft had banned her from using the service.

Hi Kat,

This is Yuri and I’m part of the Safety team at Lyft.

This email is intended to notify you that your account has been deactivated due to an alleged security breach on the Lyft platform. Specifically, we received a report alleging that you jumped out of the vehicle while the vehicle was in motion.

We will no longer be able to serve your needs as a driver on the Lyft platform. This decision is final.

Please reply to this email directly if you have any questions regarding this decision.

Thanks for taking the time for me,

In the next two emails, Lyft asserted that the decision to ban her was final and in one email suggested that she use a safety feature developed in partnership with security firm ADT. .

Update, June 20 5:18 pm:

We received the following from Lyft:

“Safety is at the heart of Lyft. We take reports like these seriously and are always working to take immediate corrective action. Unfortunately, our first response didn’t arrive in time and as a result, we reactivated the rider’s account and contacted her to offer assistance. Since day one, we’ve worked hard to design policies and features that help protect both drivers and riders, and we’re always looking for ways to make Lyft an even platform. even safer for our community.” – Lyft . Spokesperson