60-second ad warns riders about Uber and Lyft, but some call it alarmist

The ad is the third in a campaign introduced in 2015 to promote Ride Responsibly, an initiative that encourages riders to "think before you app"

Pamela Anderson walks down a city street and uses her cellphone to book a ride. Along the way, she passes a newspaper and street signs that say, “Hollywood Sexual Harassment Scandal Reaches New Lows” and “US  Senator Accused of Groping.” When she gets into the car, she sees another sign that says, “Ride-Hail Drivers Suspected of Rape.” The car doors lock, and the driver turns around and suggestively asks, “Shall we?” Just then, “#MeToo” pops up on her phone’s screen.

“When you accept a ride from a ride-hail app, you also accept the risks that come with it,” Anderson says in a voice-over. “Many ride-hail companies consider their drivers third-party providers, so they don’t have to accept any responsibility or accountability for their actions. Always ride responsibly.”

The 60-second ad, to be released Monday, is the third in a campaign introduced in 2015 by the National Limousine Association to promote Ride Responsibly, an initiative that encourages riders to “think before you app.”

It is an attempt by the association to focus on allegations of attacks by drivers for ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft, which happen to be its competitors. In November, for instance, two women sued Uber, claiming their drivers raped them in separate cases in Florida and California. And last month an Uber driver in Beirut, Lebanon, was arrested in connection with the killing of Rebecca Dykes, a British diplomat.

In September, when Transport for London, the agency that oversees that city’s subways, buses and taxis, declined to renew Uber’s licence to operate there, it said that “Uber’s approach and conduct demonstrate a lack of corporate responsibility in relation to a number of issues.” They included, it said, how Uber deals with serious criminal offenses and conducts driver background checks.

Although Anderson said the new ad was aimed at young ride-hailing customers, Scott Solombrino, a founder of the National Limousine Association and the chief executive of Dav El/Boston Coach, said it was also directed at corporate travel managers. He said these managers “might not understand the risk factors” of using companies like Uber, which he said were trying to move “into the corporate space.”