Your Uber ride isn't the place for pick ups.
An explicit injunction against flirting and sex is among the ride-sharing company's first set of specific guidelines for passengers, released Thursday.
"It’s OK to chat with other people in the car. But please don’t comment on someone’s appearance or ask whether they are single," the rules state. The guidelines previously covered only driver conduct, but now limit romance on UberPOOL rides.
"Don’t touch or flirt with other people in the car. As a reminder, Uber has a no sex rule. That’s no sexual conduct between drivers and riders, no matter what."
The company hasn't specified what exactly constitutes flirting and how drivers should enforce the no hanky-panky rule, as the Daily News pointed out.
What is clear — failure to obey company policies "may lead riders to lose access to Uber."
Other forms of unacceptable behavior include "vomiting due to excessive alcohol consumption," making discriminatory comments or gestures, asking a driver to break the speed limit, and texting, calling or visiting a driver or fellow passenger without their consent after the ride is complete.
"This kind of poor behavior is not OK, which is why we will take action against passengers who are rude, abusive or violent," Uber said in a statement posted at the end of a tumultuous year for the San Francisco-based company which is valued at more than $62 billion.
In spite of policies that ban drivers from making sexual comments or having physical contact with riders, dozens of accusations of sexual assault by Uber contractors have emerged in recent months in California, Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Massachusetts and other states across the U.S., according to a tally by watchdog organization Who's Driving You?
A federal ruling in May held the company accountable for sexual attacks by drivers, whether or not they are classified as contractors or employees.
