Rideshare giant Uber is facing a massive potential class action in Australia over horrific claims of sexual assault and harassment, as terrifying ordeals shared by female passengers ignite fresh fury over passenger safety.
Australian legal heavyweight Slater and Gordon has launched an investigation into the company to determine whether its screening processes, safety training, and complaint systems failed to adequately protect women.
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The push for legal action in Australia coincides with an intensifying global backlash, spotlighted recently by a viral video posted by an American woman whose late-night journey turned into a chilling standoff.
Posting to TikTok, the female passenger filmed a confrontation with her male Uber driver in the US who repeatedly insisted on pulling into an empty parking lot at 3:00am to charge his electric vehicle for “only 15–20 minutes”.
In the tense footage, the woman firmly rejects his request, stating, “Yeah, I don’t want to get into a random parking lot with you.”
After pointing out that the driver had just missed the highway exit, the driver suggests alternative stops, stating he wanted to find a location to make her “feel more comfortable”.
Recounting the nightmare on TikTok, the passenger wrote:
“Posting this to raise awareness about how scary Ubers can be,” she told her TikTok followers.
“I called the cops and they met me at a random gas station and never found the Uber driver.
“They checked the local charging stations that he said he was going to and he never went to them.
“His car was on 43 per cent and we were only 25 minutes away from my house.
“Absolutely the scariest thing ever.”
The viral incident, which prompted many social media users to share their own similar stories, captures the pervasive fear shared by women worldwide — and now Australian lawyers are stepping in to demand accountability.
The proposed Australian class action focuses on Uber’s corporate responsibility and internal protocols rather than just isolated complaints against individual drivers.
If launched and successful, the class action could pave the way for victims to seek substantial compensation.
A woman who came forward under the pseudonym Aisha said she chose to speak out so structural change would follow.
“It’s important for me to share my experience so that Uber acts and makes changes so that no one has to go through what I did when I took a rideshare trip,” she said.
An Uber spokesperson said safety is a “core value” of the company.
“We have invested billions of dollars and countless hours to protect the safety of users during trips. One sexual assault is one too many, and we take every report seriously. Uber recognises that sexual violence is a serious harm in the broader community, and we are committed to continually strengthening our technology, policies, and procedures to protect riders,” the spokesperson told news.com.au.
“Protecting the safety of women requires governments, law enforcement and platforms to work hand-in-hand. To ensure these safety measures are effective, digital platforms need a clear and consistent legislative and regulatory framework. Accordingly, we are calling for immediate reform of the Digital Labour Platform Deactivation Code to make it easier for platforms to uphold their safety standards, take action against drivers who threaten or violate rider safety, and strike the right balance between rider safety and procedural fairness.”
While the spokesperson notes that the company has not been served with any court proceedings, it remains “committed to listening to feedback, pushing harder, and innovating more to make every trip better and safer, every single day”.
In the United States, Uber has faced legal claims from thousands of passengers, with more than 3000 cases grouped together in federal court.
Earlier this year, an Arizona jury awarded a passenger $US8.5 million (around $12.1 million AUD) after finding Uber liable for a driver’s sexual assault, though the company flagged plans to appeal.
The company also pushed back against regulatory constraints, calling for legislative reforms to gig-economy rules to make it easier for platforms to deactivate drivers who threaten rider safety while preserving procedural fairness.
News.com.au has reached out to the US woman and Slater and Gordon for comment.