One Monday night, Anna waited for her boyfriend to fall asleep and then went downstairs to the kitchen. The 23-year-old was overwhelmed by severe depression and anxiety, so she drank a bottle of wine and a handful of diazepam, and a feeling of nausea hit with the fear of overdose.
When she asked Uber to take her to the hospital, she accidentally sent the wrong address. She walked outside Waterloo's apartment and got into a car she mistook for an Uber. Over the next 50 minutes, the older driver, Zorigoo Zurshig, tilted the front seat and raped Anna twice, leaving her feeling "scared and out of control", and she eventually managed to escape and return to her apartment.
After Zurshig failed to overturn his conviction, Anna outlined her horrific ordeal in a filing with the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal, one of many incidents in recent years in which men sexually assaulted or harassed vulnerable women under the guise of drivers.
Transportation organizations and victims' advocacy advocates are calling for increased advocacy for rideshare safety to curb these "abhorrent and shocking" crimes.
Zurshig, who was on a Mongolian tourist visa at the time, was found guilty of two counts of rape by a jury in the NSW Magistrates' Court.
Although he initially denied to the police that he had any sexual contact with Anna, the DNA sample he provided matched Anna's swab at the time of the sexual assault, thus convicting him. He was sentenced to four years and three months in prison without parole for two years.
Cases of impersonating car-sharing drivers attacking or groping women have occurred one after another
Since mid-2022, the state's courts have heard at least three cases of impersonating ride-sharing drivers accused of sex offenses, either related to the women they sought or those who strayed into their cars.
Rape charges were inexplicably dropped after a 32-year-old man was inexplicably dropped after he was accused of posing as a ride-sharing driver with another man to drive a woman from Bondi Junction to Wolli Creek and then sexually assault her in an apartment building last April.
In Wollongong, fake driver Kais Dahdal avoided jail time after admitting to having sexually touched two women without consent. Dahdal approached the two victims in his car, pretending to be Uber drivers and offering them a ride. He touched their thighs and suggested that they pay for their travel with sex.
Call for increased awareness of travel safety
Debra Weddall is the president of the Rideshare Driver Network, a national organization that advocates for drivers. She called on the government and ride-sharing companies to launch safety campaigns on the issue, noting that the practice of impersonating ride-sharing drivers could erode trust in the industry as a whole.
"All security features in the app should be mandatory and should be promoted," Weddall said. Checking the driver's identity (is one of the features), but sometimes people don't have the same photo. Passwords, driver's names, and license plates are all non-reproducible. "
Weddall also expressed support for specific legislation to impersonate bikeshare drivers.
"These safety advancements are very important, but for them to be effective, passengers need to be in the right car," the spokesperson said. "
Uber's safety toolkit includes push notifications that prompt riders to view driver photos, license plates and license plate numbers, in-app buttons to connect to emergency services, and the option to share real-time location and trip status with family and friends. The company confirmed that its standby team of former police officers worked with law enforcement to assist with the investigation. Uber did not directly respond to calls to opt out of all safety features by force or default.
Spokesman Nick McIntosh condemned those who posed as bikeshare drivers for attacking vulnerable women. "These appalling crimes are abhorrent and the perpetrators deserve severe punishment from the law," he said. "
NSW Transport Commissioner Anthony Wing said he took the criminal case involving impersonating a bikeshare driver very seriously.
"Rideshare vehicles can't flag or pick up passengers on the street without a reservation. A person who illegally provides passenger transportation without a reservation can be prosecuted, and a carpool vehicle must display a reflective sign on the rear of the vehicle indicating that the vehicle is providing carpooling services. Drivers found not flying the sign will be fined by an officer authorized by me. He said.
He said that passengers should never accept people who come forward to take a ride without an appointment, and must check the license plate and driver's details before getting on the bus.
A NSW Police spokesperson encourages all victims of sexual assault to report their cases to the police.