I think those specific incidents were carried out by the drivers (independent contractors) and they weren't formal employees. Not that I'm excusing uber of liability/responsibility.
Responsibility Arbitrage. Carl Icahn would be so proud.
In other words, Left might be better and safer than Uber not because Lyft has better employees, but because Lyft isn't (necessarily) cutting every possible corner and ignoring everyone's safety and security the way Uber is doing (and always has done).
http://www.npr.org/2011/05/09/136017612/bad-apple-proverbs-t...
>Back then, nobody ever talked about "just a few bad apples" or "only a few rotten apples" — the whole point was that even one was enough to taint the group. These days, those are the phrases people use to imply that some misdeeds were an isolated incident — a couple of rogue cops, a handful of unprincipled loan officers, two or three sociopathic soldiers. Then there's the version that goes, "There are always going to be a few bad apples." That's a counsel of moral realism: as in, there's evil in the world; get over it. It's not a sentiment you would have heard in a 19th century sermon, much less from a grocer you were complaining to about the wormy fruit he'd sold you the week before. "Well, Mrs. Gold, we all have to expect find a few rotten apples, don't we?"