After 2 Tampa Bay delivery attacks, gig workers worry about dangers

A 1998 federal report found taxi drivers were 10 times more susceptible to being killed than the average worker because they often worked late nights, handled money and were alone. Since apps such as Uber disrupted the taxi cab industry, drivers no longer have to manage the financial transactions that had escalated their risk of attacks.

But in a recent interview with the Tampa Bay Times’ Bernadette Berdychowski, Davis Goldman Co-Managing Partner Aaron Davis explains that technological advances that come with apps like Uber and DoorDash bring their own risks. Delivery apps have gotten easier to use and show lots of information, such as a person’s name, photo and location, which can make it simpler for an assailant — rider or driver — to target someone through the app.

While there’s a strong focus on rider safety, some feel ride-sharing and delivery services don’t have as much motive to protect drivers.

“There’s really no incentive for the company that they [drivers] work for to provide them with warning about the dangers that they may be facing when they go out,” Aaron says.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/crime/2023/05/01/tampa-doordash-uber-murder-kidnapping-holiday-pasco-driver-danger/