We already know black people are routinely overlooked for white passengers when trying to hail a cab. But on the ride-sharing apps, where the riders don’t have that face-to-face contact before deciding whether or not to pick up a passenger, could there still be an opportunity to discriminate based on race? NBC BLCK has the story:
Can’t seem to hail an Uber, or a Lyft? If you’re African American, the findings of a new study point to racial profiling.
African American passengers using ride-sharing services are more likely to face cancellations and higher wait times, according to a study published Monday.
After conducting more than 1,400 case studies in Seattle and Boston, researchers with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded ride-sharing drivers are more likely to discriminate against passengers with “African American sounding names” compared to riders who appear white.
“The patterns of discrimination were quite clear and consistent in both cities – and one can only assume it’s happening all across the country in other markets,” said Christopher Knittel, one of the study’s co-authors.
Though the study stresses that the racial profiling observed is a result of the choices made by individual drivers and not Uber or Lyft policy, Knittel called the results of the study “quite concerning.”
In Seattle, researchers found black passengers could experience up to a 28 percent increase in wait times for both Uber and Lyft. In Boston, a separate study found black passengers were more than two times as likely to have an UberX ride canceled. Cancellation rates for Uber passengers also disproportionally affected black men, who were three times as likely to have their rides terminated compared to white males.
In Boston, Uber’s internal data shows that 96 percent of UberX trips start within 20 minutes of a ride being requested, regardless of the neighborhood.
Click here to read the rest over at NBC BLCK.
BMWK, can you relate to this?
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