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DENVER, CO – The House today passed legislation to establish new safety requirements for transportation network companies (TNCs), including Uber and Lyft. The Colorado Rideshare Safety & Accountability Act would require more frequent background checks and crack down on imposter accounts.
“With the Colorado Rideshare Safety & Accountability Act, we can keep riders and drivers safe,” said Rep. Jenny Willford, D-Northglenn. “The driver who sexually assaulted me was using an imposter account, and it’s important TNCs take proactive measures to crack down on account sharing. Under this bill, drivers would be subject to more frequent background checks, and TNCs would have more rigid reporting requirements. A sexual assault or misconduct happens in a rideshare nearly every eight minutes, and I’m proud of our efforts to make large-scale rideshares safer.”
“Coloradans deserve safe, reliable transportation options. Far too many sexual assaults are happening in rideshares, and the Colorado Rideshare Safety & Accountability Act establishes much-needed guidelines to protect riders and drivers,” said Rep. Meg Froelich, D-Englewood. “This bill addresses many of the persistent safety concerns with large rideshares, including imposter accounts, drivers with disqualifying criminal histories and driving records. To enhance transparency, this bill also requires large-scale TNCs to provide an annual report of the crimes that happen on their watch.”
The Colorado Rideshare Safety & Accountability Act (HB26-1424) would establish new safety requirements and policies designed to keep riders and drivers safe. The bill would apply to large-scale rideshare companies with more than 20,000 monthly rides and does not apply to HopSkipDrive. HB26-1424 passed the House by a vote of 44-18.
More frequent background checks
TNCs must procure privately administered background checks on drivers every six months after the initial criminal history record check.
Crackdown on imposter, shared and rented accounts
To help prevent multiple drivers from operating under one account, this bill would require TNCs to develop and enforce a company policy against impostor drivers, account sharing, and account renting.
Stronger driver vetting and clear disqualifications
Drivers with a history of convictions for assault, harassment, kidnapping, menacing, stalking, or domestic violence, or who had previously been caught account sharing, would be barred from driving with a rideshare company.
If a driver is barred by one rideshare company for serious safety concerns, they would be barred from driving for all TNCs operating in Colorado. This also applies to drivers who were disqualified from driving for a rideshare company in another state with similar TNC regulations to Colorado.
Robust complaint procedures and survivor updates
If a rider submits a complaint to a TNC about their driver, the TNC must provide up-to-date information to the Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to investigate complaints. Additionally, the TNC must respond to a complaint-related subpoena or search warrant within 72 hours.
Survivors may also opt in to receive updates about their complaint.
If a complaint is filed against a driver, the TNC must procure a new background check before the driver can drive again.
Improved transparency and accountability
TNCs must provide annual reports to the PUC, the Attorney General’s Office and every member of the general assembly. These reports must include the number of homicides, assaults, verbal threats, and accidents, as well as any instances of stalking, harassment, theft and discrimination.
The PUC may penalize a TNC that violates any provision of HB26-1424 up to $1,500 per violation.
TNCs must provide ongoing driver and rider safety training based on rules adopted by the PUC.
The PUC would be required to create rules and standards for driver and rider audio and video recording by June 1, 2028. This includes opt-in and opt-out procedures for both drivers and riders, rider preference for drivers with recording available, and the procedures and timeline for TNCs to integrate audio and video recording directly into their apps.
Additionally, TNCs would need to establish and enforce certain policies that:
Prevent sex assault, physical assault and homicide.
Prohibit the transportation of unaccompanied minors, unless they are part of an authorized family account.
Require food and beverages offered during a ride to be factory-sealed.
Educate drivers on new safety policies.
Prevent crimes against drivers by riders.
Do not allow the collection of any rider or driver biometric data.
More than 15,500 Uber and Lyft riders and drivers were sexually assaulted between 2017 and 2022. This number only represents the number of sexual assaults that were reported. On average, only 30 percent of sexual assaults are reported.
Countless instances of sexual assault have happened in Ubers and Lyfts in Colorado, including a former Denver Lyft driver sentenced to 290 years in prison last year for charges related to kidnapping, sexual assault, and attempted sexual assault of more than a dozen women over four years.
In 2024, an Aurora Lyft driver was sentenced to nine years in prison for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl. Last week, an Arvada Uber driver was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault against a passenger. Arvada police believe there are likely more victims in this case, as the driver used multiple vehicles over his more than 1,000 rides.