Uber is introducing a number of features to further ensure the safety of drivers and riders. Uber and other ride-sharing services have had a number of controversies over the years, with drivers kidnapping riders and riders canceling while in the middle of a drive. However, the vast majority of rides through these various apps are fine and safe.
Ride-sharing apps are the natural evolution of traditional taxi cabs. Instead of calling or trying to hail down a taxi, users can instead download an app, request a car, and fill in the destination details. This makes it much easier to get around a new town as ride-sharing apps are available in most major cities.
As explained in a press release by Uber, the company will be adding more safety features for both drivers and riders in the coming months. First and foremost, the company will be introducing audible seat belt alerts. Riders will get an audible alert via the driver’s phone in addition to a push notification on their smartphone. Uber says this feature will roll out nationally early next year and should “help drivers ensure a safe environment while on a trip.” The ride-sharing company will also be improving on its existing RideCheck technology. It will now be able to detect when a trip takes an unexpected route or if a trip ends unexpectedly before it reaches the final destination. Both riders and drivers will get an alert asking if everything is okay, and if not, can request emergency services or report an issue to Uber. And finally, Uber will be expanding its handy audio recording feature to three US cities later this month. The feature lets the Uber app securely record an encrypted audio file of the ride. The file is not accessible by the rider, driver, or Uber unless a safety report is sent to Uber. From there, a trained Uber safety agent will decrypt the audio file to determine what happened and the best course of action.
The Safer, The Better
These all seem like great changes to help ensure a safe ride for all parties involved. Although it’s understandable that Uber wants to slowly roll out the audio recording feature to a few cities first to ensure a smooth launch, it would’ve been nice if it were more widely available. If anything, recording audio in an Uber is like having a dashcam in a personal vehicle. It ensures accountability for all parties involved in case anything goes south.
Adding safety features is never a bad thing. According to the riders in Latin America, where this feature has been available for quite some time now, nearly 70% of both riders and drivers say that they feel safer with the feature enabled while using Uber. Of course, this is on top of all of the other safety features Uber has been using for a number of years now, including GPS tracked rides and one-tap access to emergency services.
