Stabbing of ride share driver prompts call for safety measures

An advocate is calling on ride share companies to improve safety for drivers after one was injured in a stabbing in Scarborough this week.

Earla Phillips, an Uber and Lyft driver and vice-president of the Rideshare Drivers Association of Ontario, said on Thursday that measures to protect drivers do not go far enough. The association says it advocates for fairness and rights within its industry.

Phillips said drivers regularly have dangerous interactions with customers. She said she wants ride share companies to use identification to verify riders, making sure they are using their real names and photos, to provide that information to drivers, and to provide financial assistance to drivers so they can buy dashboard cameras.

The companies need to take drivers' complaints seriously, she added.

An Uber driver was stabbed by a passenger near Kingston Road and Sheppard Avenue East on Wednesday afternoon The stabbing happened inside a vehicle. The driver was taken to hospital in serious but stable condition. Toronto police are still searching for the suspect, believed to be between 20 and 25 years old.

After the stabbing, Uber said it immediately banned the rider and has contacted the driver.

'It could happen to any one of us'

Phillips said she's devastated to hear one of her fellow drivers was stabbed.

"It hit me right in the heart because it could happen to any one of us. Any one of us could have a dangerous interaction with a passenger in our vehicles and we have virtually no safety support for this," Philips said.

In a statement on Thursday, Uber said it's taken serious steps to improve safety for drivers and delivery people, including GPS tracking, the ability to chat with a live safety agent, record audio of the trip, and an in-app emergency button.

"Our work is never done, and we are committed to continually raising the bar on safety to help protect our communities," Uber said in the statement.

Phillips said her own safety has been jeopardized as a driver and she has taken matters into her own hands by installing a dashboard camera.

"I've had vandalism to my vehicle. I have had physical threats, been sexually harassed," Phillips said.

"The companies say they have these safety features in the app. Yeah, when I'm being assaulted, I'm really going to have time to be looking through the app for the safety features. It's insufficient."

Verification of riders would go a long way toward protecting drivers, she added.

"We don't want people to be able to have an account cancelled and then go buy a gift card and some burner phone and put in a new e-mail address," Phillips said.

Gig workers lack workplace protections, union rep says

Pablo Godoy, a director for emerging sectors of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, said gig workers in Ontario lack the same workplace health and safety protections that other workers have.

"Workers don't feel as though they have a say in actually enacting any type of health and safety mechanisms or protections at work. There are no legal or legislative baselines that employers or companies in the spaces have to adhere to," Godoy said.

Manuel Alas-Sevillano, spokesperson for Ontario's Ministry of Labour, said in a statement on Thursday: "We understand that the way we work has been changing, and the future of work is already here."

Alas-Sevillano added that the Digital Platform Workers' Rights Act (DPWRA), once fully implemented, "will guarantee workers who provide ride-share, delivery, or courier services a minimum wage, protection of their tips, the resolution of disputes in Ontario, and protection from reprisals.

"As the world of work continues to change, we continue to explore additional supports and protections for workers."