Uber now checks in with users if they observe suspicious behavior from their driver as part of its new safety measures.
If the app detects a driver taking unusual routes or making prolonged stops, it will send a message to both the rider and the driver ‘to check if everything is OK’.
The driver will check in as well with the rider if the trip ends at a different location than the rider chose.
A pop-up will automatically appear that gives the rider the chance to call for help – either by calling 999 or the Uber safety line.
After several high-profile incidents involving passengers and drivers, the ridesharing company wants passengers to feel more secure when taking a ride.
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Uber will automatically display a pop-up if it detects any unusual routes or long stops, or if the trip ends in another location than the destination. This allows the rider to contact Uber for assistance by either calling 999, or via the Uber safety line
In one case, an Uber driver was sentenced to death in 2019 for the rape and murder of British embassy worker Rebecca Dykes in Lebanon.
Last year, another Uber driver was found guilty of raping his female passenger during a trip in New Zealand.
Uber announced that this feature will be available in the UK beginning Monday.
‘The safety of everyone who uses the Uber app is a top priority, which is why we have bolstered the safety features available on the Uber app,’ said Bex Xiao, head of community operations for Uber UK.
“We are aware that safety is always a challenge. We will continue to learn, innovate, and listen.
Uber users – either the driver or rider – are already able to flag that something is wrong on Uber using an Emergency Button, which is accessible by tapping the shield icon on their app’s map screen during a trip.
When a rider or driver uses the in-app emergency button to call 999, the car’s make and model, license plate, and GPS location are made available.
A poll commissioned by Uber has found 70 per cent of women feel more safe when they’re in a vehicle that can be tracked on an app.
The YouGov poll of more than 2,298 women, carried out in November this year, also found 72 per cent of women feel their safety is protected when they’re using an app whose journey details can be shared with friends and family.
Uber stressed that the incidents surrounding its platform were a minority.
In London, more than 99.9 per cent of trips between February and July this year passed without the rider reporting a safety issue, it says in a new report.
The report states that “Our platform does not have the ability to ignore the problems faced by the society at large, including violence, verbal abuse, or sexual assaults as well general trends in road safety and vehicle accidents.”
“Although we believe safety incidents on our platform to be extremely rare, it is not impossible for us to say that there are one or two.”
The ridesharing giant wants to make passengers feel safer when they take a ride, following some high-profile cases involving drivers and passengers (stock image)
Uber announced earlier in the month that it would be launching a new app. In three US cities, a pilot program to enable audio recording is launched in order to improve safety.
Uber pilots will be able to transmit trip recordings to Uber riders and drivers in the case of an accident.
On Monday, Uber’s business model was declared illegal by the UK High Court. This could lead to a reorganization of UK operations.
This follows a Supreme Court ruling in February that declared Uber drivers were employees of Uber – rather than simply an ‘agent’ for drivers, as Uber had insisted – and are therefore entitled to benefits such as sick pay and minimum wage.
Uber is located in San Francisco and is now operating in the UK because of an 18-month extension to its license granted by the courts on September 2020.
Transport for London (TfL), which approved the ridesharing company to continue operating on a long-term basis, has been difficult to approve. TfL has previously cited passenger safety among the issues with the platform.
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