Detroit police are investigating allegations concerning a Lyft ride carrying teenagers, Metro Detroit News reported. No charges had been filed as of publication. The outlet said Lyft removed the driver from its platform; Shawntae Boyd told the outlet she received a refund, and a Lyft spokesperson said the company had offered the family support. The allegations have not been independently confirmed here. Details about the ride and the company’s response are based on Metro Detroit News’s account, which withheld the driver’s name.
The ride was booked through an adult account
Metro Detroit News reported that Boyd booked the ride through her personal Lyft account, not the company’s teen program. Her 14-year-old daughter, a cousin and friends were returning from trick-or-treating. The account usually had Women+ Connect enabled, but the outlet said no female drivers were available. The trip, from West Parkway to Rosemont and Warren in Detroit, took less than 15 minutes, according to the report.
According to Metro Detroit News, Boyd’s daughter said the driver directed one child to sit in the front passenger seat, saying there was not enough room in the back. She said there was room and that the driver threatened to cancel the trip if the group did not comply. The daughter told the outlet she saw the driver looking toward her while engaging in the alleged conduct and took photographs. The outlet reported that the children ran to Boyd after the ride and that her daughter showed her the images.
Boyd told Metro Detroit News that after she reported the driver to Lyft and shared the allegations on social media, people messaged her identifying him as a teacher at a Detroit school serving elementary and middle school students. The outlet did not publish his name because he had not been charged.
Lyft’s teen program is separate
Lyft says its teen program is for riders ages 13 to 17 and offers features including parental trip tracking, PIN verification and audio recording when a teen enables microphone access. The company also says drivers carrying teen riders must meet additional safety criteria, undergo yearly background checks and have no prior personal safety incidents in Lyft’s records. These are program features; the Detroit ride was booked on an adult account. Lyft’s teen-ride information describes the program.
Michigan law sets screening requirements
Michigan law requires transportation network companies to conduct annual local and national criminal background checks and obtain and review annual driving-history reports for drivers. It also bars applicants who meet specified disqualifying criteria, according to the Michigan Legislature.
The incident comes amid other reported concerns about minors and rideshare services, though those cases are not necessarily comparable. NBC News identified 10 instances since 2017 in which adults allegedly used Uber or Lyft rides to transport children or teenagers to homes or hotel rooms for sexual abuse; four involved Lyft drivers and six involved Uber drivers, according to its investigation.
