A new study conducted at three different universities has indicated that Uber and Lyft car services discriminate against black and women riders.
According to the research conducted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, and the University of Washington with nearly 1,500 rides in Seattle and Boston over a period of two years, students participating in the research were given identical phones with three car service apps; Uber, Lyft, and Flywheel.
The students were instructed to request for rides in which the passenger were asked to note when they requested the ride, what time they were picked up, when their rides were denied or accepted and also record when they arrive at their various destinations.
The research carried out in Boston showed also tested drive requests using names that sounded stereotypically black or white.
The study showed that black drivers experienced longer wait times and more frequent cancellations while female riders were most likely overcharged or taken through longer routes to arrive at their destinations.
The study also reported a 28% added time for male passengers with stereotypical black names to have their rides accepted with more than three times possibility of having their trips cancelled.
Researchers on the female testers noted that “the additional travel that female riders are exposed to appears to be a combination of profiteering and flirting to a captive audience.”