I guess the way to approach it would be to compare the statistics of sexual assault by driver of taxi or similar travel for hire with the statistics we see in the case of Uber and try to discern whether they are meaningfully different.

Agreed. It's also not as if these sexual assault cases are not well documented already. I wonder what Uber will say about this.

So what then, an Uber customer would have to just say "yeah ok rapes happen so let me keep taking Uber"?

The point is, Uber is claiming to be better than cabbies in that they screen drivers, etc. Clearly they aren't doing anything of the sort. So they are as unsafe as taking any other cab.

I'm not a fan of Uber's tactics, but it's not "clear they aren't doing anything". Just because they're offering a safer alternative doesn't mean that nothing bad could ever happen.

There's something to be said for the user rating system as well in instances of grey areas. My (American) sister-in-law swears by Uber specifically because she's experienced unwarranted advances when taking both regular cabs and Uber cabs, but in the case of Uber she felt she had more recourse when something went awry.

Well, as it's been pointed out there is a stronger underlying issue as to Uber's ban than simply a rape. But I don't really understand your point anyway.

I did not say that Uber doesn't have issues to address, I said that the Indian government has underlying issues, and can't scapegoat forever.

Not every situation in life has clear sides of "good guys" and "bad guys" or who's "to blame." Cause is a moving bar, and has different value depending what we are talking about causing.

Uber causes it's passengers to be in danger by not ensuring the people behind the wheel.

India on the other hand has a history of not punishing rapists. The guy gets acquitted of rape, because rape is too hard to prove under Indian law and because the juries are biased. edit: updated spelling

I'm not arguing about the scapegoating or anything. I'm just saying that Uber markets itself as "we don't hire those creeps" - but it sounds like they ARE hiring those creeps. So what's the point of using Uber in Delhi when you are as unsafe as you would be in a regular taxicab?

What's the value proposition of Uber in that case? Just the convenience of using the app?

I don't like Uber, I do like the idea of competition.

I think the draw is upfront pricing? But I don't know, I've horror stories about that too.

Well Uber might still be the safest choice. I can't imagine Indian taxies being very safe in the first place.

whats the difference? they're hiring from the same pool.

Rape is a hate crime in India http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/as-india-responds-...

An underlying issue like the Bhopal Disaster?

http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/06/photos-bhopal...

What's this got to do with the topic on hand?