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(AP)
The Uber and Lyft company executives answered questions Monday afternoon, after pressing them following recent assaults involving their drivers.
RELATED: Uber reacts to carpool tax in Seattle
In the last two months, several sexual assaults have been alleged against their drivers.
King County officials now want to know how companies are selecting their drivers.
Government Accountability and Monitoring Committee members of the Metropolitan King County Council held a meeting on Monday to help address security issues, including the management of driver background checks.
"We believe our background checks have been shown to be robust, complete and fair," said Uber representative Caleb Weaver at the hearing.
Before Monday's meeting, Council member Pete von Reichbauer said he wanted to ask what protective measures were in place to protect passengers.
"We have seen a slight increase in cases of reprehensible conduct and aggression by TNC drivers in the Seattle area and across the country," said von Reichbauer, chairman of the GAO committee. "With this hearing, we hope to discover the protections put in place by Uber and Lyft to ensure that when passengers use their services, they will be safe and their travel information will be safe as well."
On their way home, two drivers were arrested Monday morning.
Lyft driver Mohammed Hussein was sued for indecent libel charges for sexually assaulting a woman he found on Capitol Hill after falling asleep in his car. His bond was set at $ 10,000.
Another driver, Ghassan Shakir, was also brought to justice on Monday. The 35-year-old man pleaded not guilty and handcuffed a woman to her car and sexually assaulted her while she was working as a chauffeur at Lyft.
There are also allegations that Shakir allegedly raped several women that he allegedly recovered in Bellevue and SeaTac. His bond was set at $ 750,000.
And according to the police, Israel Ramos-Islas allegedly introduced himself as a carpool driver and allegedly sexually assaulted a woman he found in front of a Ballard bar.
Riders should always check their applications and make sure that the driver's plates match.
MyNorthwest and KIRO Radio staff contributed to this report
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